It was a stunning night for Labour June 7. British political geography has been permanently transformed. Yet learning the lessons of defeat is comparatively easy. British Conservatives are already starting to learn those lessons.
Conservative Party leader William Hague has resigned, having failed, as one wag put it, to distinguish a bandwagon from a hearse. Europe and the single currency may not be popular among the English electorate, but they are so far down voters' lists of priorities that they have almost no electoral leverage. People vote because of health, education, the economy and public services rather than the single currency.
The Tories need a political repositioning that connects them back to the center of the political debate where real people, rather than Daily Telegraph readers, live their lives. Michael Portillo seems to have got the message. The question is whether others in the Tory Party have as well. There are no preservation laws on political parties, they can disappear or languish on the geographical and political margins for three-quarters of a century.