Fairly simple, really. Both McDonnell and Chambers should have been told in no uncertain terms not to be so bloody stupid and sent away with fleas in their ears. Much as I hate Thatcher, and much as I have a sneaking regard for those who keep a bottle of something on ice for the day she leaves this earth, joking about assassinating someone who was nearly assassinated (in Brighton) is going too far. On the other hand, treating the Twitter guy as a potential terrorist is silly in the other direction: if he'd actually been on a plane when he said it, that would have been different.

I find it bizarre that Harman hasn't entered the leadership race, actually. For all that she's often mocked for her right-on views, she's a pretty effective performer, knows how to work the system (nobody expected her to win the deputy leadership) and has done quite well in the Commons as the temporary leader. Agreed about the arithmetic, though.