GOOD CAMPAIGN
Jeremy Corbyn Yes the bar was so low someone had dug it a trench, but the Labour leader has exceeded these limited expectations. Early promises of more bank holidays and scrapping hospital parking charges caught the eye, the manifesto might have been a billion-pound wishlist but people seemed to like it and Mr Zen has managed not to lose his temper in interviews. Even if he is taking the Labour Party to disaster — which is not certain — he will still claim to have triumphed on a hard-left agenda and will be much harder to unseat later.
Nick Ferrari’s maths teacher Whoever taught the LBC presenter how to crunch the numbers has helped claim the scalps of numerous politicians whose sums did not add up, including Diane Abbott and Angela Rayner. It inspired countless imitators, with Karen Bradley, a former chartered accountant, among Tories caught out by being asked simple numerical questions.
Mugwumps After Boris Johnson used the term in a newspaper article to describe Jeremy Corbyn, everyone became an expert in how it was used to describe people who left the Republicans to support the Democrat candidate Grover Cleveland and later became a word for a political turncoat. However, the chaotic round of TV and radio interviews that Mr Johnson did later that day meant he was not seen for much of the campaign that followed.
Retreads All political careers end in failure or a second chance. Former MPs hoping to make a comeback include Esther McVey, a Tory ousted in 2015 now standing in safe Tatton, and Lib Dems such as Sir Vince Cable, Sir Ed Davey and Jo Swinson. Will the losers be winners after all?
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Amber Rudd Days after her father had died, the home secretary capably stood in for the PM in a TV debate and arguably did a better job than if her boss had turned up. After surviving a year at the Home Office, following in Theresa May’s footsteps, she is emboldened and increasingly ready to stand up to No 10. One of the few people to emerge from the campaign with their reputation enhanced.
Real people There was Kathy Mohan, who confronted Theresa May over disability cuts. Malcolm Baker told Tim Farron: “I hope you get beat.” Adam Murgatroyd challenged Mr Corbyn on Question Time over what he would do about an imminent threat from nuclear weapons. Each person managed to bring out a side of the party leaders that the professionals could not.
Ruth Davidson Having told London Tory HQ to back off, including promising wealthy elderly Scots they can keep their winter fuel cash, she can take credit for any gains north of the border. For the first time in years there could be more Conservative MPs than pandas in Scotland, robbing the SNP of their favourite joke.
George Osborne The former chancellor quit the Commons when the election was called, just weeks after it was announced that he was going to edit the Evening Standard. He has taken to being a newspaper editor with some gusto, hammering his old foe Mrs May.
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BAD CAMPAIGN
Theresa May To shred a 20-point lead by performing the first pre-election U-turn takes some doing and the prime minister did it with elan. Riding high in the polls, she called the election with some boasting that she would beat Labour by 200 seats. But after ten months without a serious misstep, she provoked a revolt on the doorstep with her social care policy and a sharp reversal followed. No matter how big the majority, it will be tough to recover the lost authority among scores of Tory MPs who now know the lady is for turning.
Remoaners The 48 per cent has halved in size, as most pro-EU voters grumpily accept Brexit is going to happen. The Lib Dems hoped to make big gains by wooing Europhiles but instead found themselves battling to hang on to the nine seats they started with.
Facebook When not accused of peddling dark ads for political parties, the web giant faced pressure to do more to tackle extremism online. There are even calls for the site to be blocked in Britain if it does not co-operate.
Animals Foxes woke to news that the Tories want to scrap the ban on hunting with hounds, to the delight of everyone from the 1850s. Tim Farron was caught on camera inviting a voter’s dog to smell his spaniel, Jasper, but was wrongly ridiculed online for seemingly asking voters to smell his dog. El Gato, Jeremy Corbyn’s cat, has been trying to prove his own socialist credentials to his owner by sharing his food with strays.
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Nigel Farage The local radio shock-jock has struggled to make an impact, with only the FBI still considering him to be a person of interest.
Natalie Repeatedly criticised by Paul Nuttall during the ITV debate, despite there being no one on the panel of that name. He was referring to Leanne Wood, the Plaid Cymru leader, who later revealed her campaign playlist included the Ting Tings’ hit That’s Not My Name.
Giles Wooltorton’s left foot The BBC cameraman was run over by Mr Corbyn’s car although the Labour leader appeared oblivious in the back seat. The legs of George Turner fared better — the Lib Dem candidate was airbrushed out of a photo by Labour’s Kate Hoey, but his lower half was left in.