Searching for positives in the aftermath of Thursday’s triple byelections, the Conservative party chair, Greg Hands, pointed out that Labour had lost its deposit in Somerton and Frome. Speaking immediately after, the polling expert Sir John Curtice had a different view: this was actually bad news for the Tories.

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As noted by Curtice, the results once again show how much better UK voters are getting at making tactical decisions, although this is generally seen as easier to do in a byelection, without the wider political noise of a general election.