[By James Hobbs in London.] The north London constituency of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn neighbours the one we live in, and last night, as campaigning ended for the UK’s second general election in two years (not to mention last year’s Brexit vote), Corbyn returned to his home patch for his final rally. The roads filled around Union Chapel in Upper Street with good-natured, chanting crowds awaiting the arrival of his campaign bus, while another 800 were in place to hear his speech from inside the chapel. His rise in the polls over the seven-week campaign has been significant without suggesting a surge to victory. But what do pollsters know?
From across Upper Street, where I could get a good overall view of the scene (except when passing buses, edging through the crowds, had to stop to allow passengers out, obstructing our view), it wasn’t easy to hear his speech. (It was strangely reminiscent of the scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian when the crowd wrongly believe he has said “Blessed are the cheesemakers”.) It was the atmosphere and humour of the occasion that was most enjoyable, and the presence of many young politically engaged people that was encouraging. We vote today, we get the result tomorrow.