Sounding more like the boss of a failing NHS trust trying to lay the blame at his predecessors, Tory chairman Greg Hands said 'legacy issues' were responsible for his party's two catastrophic defeats.
Now one could be charitable, and say that Mr Hands is obviously a 'glass quarter full' kinda guy. Or one could be honest, and say the Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-election results are so bad for the Conservatives that even the most true-blue party activist will struggle to find a straw to clutch on to.
Sarah Edwards' win in Tamworth was a watershed moment for Labour, the second highest by-election swing to the party of all time. But the loss of Mid Bedfordshire, a Conservative stronghold for 92 years, is arguably even more dramatic. Nadine Dorries' 24,466 majority is the Tories' largest to be overturned at a by-election since 1945.
With Brexit now safely delivered, Red Wall voters now worry less about Labour reneging on the 2016 referendum. And while Mr Hands may have a point that there is no great outpouring of public affection for Sir Keir, the Labour leader has managed to neutralise the toxicity of the Jeremy Corbyn years. Working-class folk in the Midlands now think it is safe to vote Labour.
What is truly astounding, though, is the speed with which the public mood has changed. It is just 29 months since Boris Johnson led the Conservatives to a stunning victory in the Hartlepool by-election, and Sir Keir was under mounting pressure for his lacklustre public image. But politics is a long game, and Sir Keir's patience appears to be paying off.
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