Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Lindsay Razaq: Defiant Corbynites need a reality check

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaking in Stoke-on-Trent (Joe Giddens/PA Wire)
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaking in Stoke-on-Trent (Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

WATCHING someone dreadful on the X Factor or any other TV talent contest for that matter is excruciating.

For one, it feels cruel. But what’s often worse is the level of denial – the audition means everything and nothing will stop them from becoming a star.

Other than reality, of course.

I was reminded just how painful those performances can be in the hours after Labour’s humiliating defeat in Copeland at the hands of the Tories.

After a speech on Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn was asked whether he had looked in the mirror and thought: “Could the problem actually be me?”

No, came his defiant reply, regardless of the obvious impact in this particular case of his views on the nuclear industry.

There was also denial in spade-loads from Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who angrily claimed the result was not a judgment of his boss.

Instead he argued the party’s difficulties were down to the division sown by leadership challenges.

The worst offender, however, was Cat Smith, who said to be “15-18 points behind in the polls and to push the Tories within 2000 votes is an incredible achievement”.

Almost as cringeworthy were the repeated acknowledgements that the party must reconnect with voters and rebuild.

Clearly that’s true, but Labour MPs have been saying that since the 2015 general election and before.

And there still doesn’t seem to be any plan for how they might do so.

An honest few were willing to accept Corbyn doesn’t have a future in show business, with John Woodcock describing the party as “on course to a historic and catastrophic defeat”.

Indeed, notwithstanding his double leadership election wins, it is hard to see a way back for Labour under Corbyn.

The night could certainly have been worse for the veteran left-winger – there was relief in Stoke-on-Trent Central, where his party held off the Ukip challenge, albeit with a slightly decreased share of the vote.

But it’s difficult to overstate the significance of the Tory win in Cumbria.

Copeland is an area Labour has represented for more than 80 years. Moreover, it’s the opposition – not the Government – that wins by-elections.

To illustrate it most powerfully, Strathclyde University’s Professor John Curtice said it was the best by-election performance by a governing party since 1966, in terms of increased vote share.

So – with Paul Nuttall unable to dominate in the so-called Brexit capital of Britain and left pondering Ukip’s raison d’etre – Theresa May emerged the obvious winner.

Her triumph will likely fuel already brewing speculation about a snap election, with some suggesting she may call one as she triggers Article 50 to formally start withdrawal negotiations.

While the Prime Minister has previously ruled this out, the temptation to increase her majority and secure a personal mandate as well as one for her Brexit plan – coupled with pressure from within the party – could prove overwhelming.