Given that Farage -with all his cheeky vulgarity - has stepped back from Reform UK, then what is left is the infrastructure, rather than the policies, of UKIP. Galloway lacks that infrastructure and does not have time to build it up. Granted, his message will resonate with working class people who share his stated values. But without the money, the offfices, the staff, the membership and so forth, it's too much of a mountain to climb!

Tice and his people have the infrastructure and the money. They have a message that will resonate with the upper-middle and middle classes down South, as well as with farmers who see climate change policies as a threat to their livelihoods. They do represent a threat to the Tories. Not by taking seats, but by changing the numbers enough to knock the Tories out of safe seats. Their promise to reinstate the pits might get them votes in the North as well, though that would be a problem for Labour more.

Quite what Truss thinks she's doing is beyond me. It's obvious that if the Tories loser, Rishi will get the boot, and likely be succeeded by lipstick-wearing Rottweiler Suella Braverman.

To me, though, the major issue is that, right now, the electorate seems more than ordinarily fractious, about a rather larger number of things than is usual. That could bring about a record low turn-out because folk have had it with politics. Or it could bring on a massive turn-out with a lot of protest votes that leaves us with a hung Parliament (I'd rather see a hanged Parliament, but never mind). Or given the mayfly-like attention span of the 'average' person, a landslide against whoever pissed them off most recently.

Much depends upon how long Rishi thinks he can hang on before calling it. Both Callaghan and Major played that game in the past, and it never ends well.