No left turn

Last week's election results seemed to confirm that the Tories and their friends in the press had managed to dupe the great British public into thinking (among other things) that the budget deficit was all Labour's fault and that harsh austerity measures impacting most severely on the vulnerable are essential (hint: they're not). Now they appear determined to convince us all that Labour's crushing defeat is evidence of them being out of touch with the electorate because, under Ed Miliband, they decided to take a fateful step to the left.

Thankfully, Diane Abbott is on hand to dispel that particular myth, and in the process underline the fact that the only true party on the left at present - the only one to actually challenge the austerity mantra rather than swallow it hook, line and sinker - are the Greens.