[hyndburner]

Whatever the shortcomings of the new Labour leadership, the fact is that they are shortly to become the only refuge for millions of voters about to find out what the Conservative austerity programme is all about.

Many people currently in receipt of tax credits voted Conservative because they liked the message that benefit recipients are scroungers, and as such need to be punished.

What they don't realise is that Osborne doesn't differentiate between benefit recipients and tax credit recipients. They are bot a drain on public spending that has to be eliminated.

So look out for the backlash when Conservative voters find that they themselves are being punished, and there'll be a whole lot of them becoming ex Conservative voters.

And where do they go?

To the party preaching anti austerity.

The further the Tories shift to the right, the more powerful Labour will become.