After a disastrous by election, the Tories have one thing in their favour, optics.

The very narrow route to victory or more likely a hung parliament rest on spinning the win in Uxbridge as some kind of proof they are still a viable electoral prospect.

If they had a plan, they would speed up the selection of their remaining MPs, spend the first half of the summer plotting a campaign to portray Labour as a power to be challenged and then call an election for late September or early October. Obliterating party conference season and leaving Labour completely flat footed and without many key selections in place.