Two by-election defeats on 20 July and a narrow victory in a third have damaged the Tories. A big victory for Labour in Selby and Ainsty for Keir Mather, a former CBI staffer who had previously worked for Wes Streeting and for Times journalist Matthew Parris, is exactly what Starmer would have hoped for. The derisory Labour vote in Somerset and Frome reflects the Lib-Dems going all out to target the seat. It was never likely to see a Labour victory.