7 is a dangerous number, Cynthia

 And then there were seven. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it does make you wonder why none of the Labour Leavers who are Remainers Really thought, prior to their launch, is seven that good a number? Should we be trying to persuade an eighth Blairite to throw in his or her lot?

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Seven dwarves. Seven deadly sinners. Seven brothers looking for brides. Sufferers from Seven Year Itch syndrome.

All the above media sub-ed fodder would be bad enough if it weren’t for some more obviously creative additions such as Robin and the Seven Hoods, fizzy Seven Up and the Seven Laws of Noah….which included stuff like not worshiping idols, not stealing and not committing adultery. There aren’t many MPs I know that could live up to those values.

Nor indeed (I suspect) could the less than Magnificent Seven be described as the Seven Wonders of the World, the Seven Samurai, the Seven Seas or the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Least of all do I see them as a Seven Iron – that is, the sort of golf club with a lofted face for hitting high shots to the green. Much easier, I suspect, is the idea of this motley crew as Pro Am plonkers likely to drive every ball into the rough.

And yet….and yet. Already the bookies have lengthened Jeremy Corbyn’s chances of ever becoming Prime Minister. And today, a Labour MP has died. At the by-election, a relatively slim 5,685 majority could, with the “right” mix of candidates, produce an upset. Would more rats leap over the side of HMS Corbyn?

To be honest, I think that yes, they would. The question is, how many?

The more would not necessarily be the merrier. Certainly, my own objective would never be to create the conditions for a Conservative hegemony, because at heart I remain a pluralist defender of the Constitution. I do not believe our voting rights are safe under the current controllers of the Tory Party. Equally, I do not think our freedom of speech would last very long under Corbyn Labour.

The goal for me at the next General Election would be informed and tactical voting designed to kick the Establishment as hard as possible in the scrotum. But that will require organisation and a rejection of tribal habits. Only time will tell whether such a revolution can be arranged.

I am hopeful, but far from confident.