With economics, sleaze and environmentalism off the table, Labour is only left with the culture wars to fight the Tories on.
The Prime Minister will be rejected by the aspirational working class that voted for him in large numbers if he cannot win this battle.
What does it say for our patriotic endeavour that so many of our fellow citizens are literally rubbishing our country?
Listening to conversations in Westminster in recent days, I fear a number of misconceptions will drive bad decision-making.
It is easy to conclude that the Conservatives were the biggest losers. The question of who won is more complicated.
That is bigger than the size of Surrey. The MOD also holds “rights” to another half a million acres.
This weakening of local accountability makes it all the more important for Conservatives to offer voters a clear alternative.
Maybe it was ever thus, at least in modern times, but Tory-held suburban seats outside the South-East are under-represented at the top table.
The Party has collectively failed to modernise its campaigning, with the result that we saw on June 8. This needs radical reform if it is not to collapse completely.
Council leaders will draw a moral from those mis-sent text messages: that if Ministers are put under enough pressure, they will cough up the loot.
They take place three months from tomorrow – as will Birmingham’s mayoral election and that Surrey council tax referendum.
Two-tier arrangements confuse the public – radical reform is the answer to the financial pressures.
We have no alternative to seeking a 15 per cent Council Tax rise.
Not being white remains the number one demographic predictor of not voting Tory.