When Tony Blair won his landslide 25 years ago, Labour canvassers could barely believe the positive response they got on the doorsteps of affluent voters. “People with gravel drives were coming over to us,” one recalled.

In the run-up to Thursday’s local elections, the same group of voters were cited by Conservative campaigners in the south of England. “The ones with gravel drives hate Partygate the most,” one MP said. It seems that, unable to vote for Boris Johnson, many stayed at home or switched their allegiance.

Unfortunately for Keir Starmer, this was not a 1997 moment. Disenchanted Tories did not flock in droves to Labour – despite Partygate, the cost of living crisis and even the prospect of a recession. “There is not the same buzz and momentum we had in 1995 or 1996,” one Starmer ally admitted to me.