Admission a decisive moment...

A win in the mind is almost as important as a win on the hustings in elections, and Team Labour achieved both yesterday in extraordinary circumstances. 

Conceding they are way off the pace, the battered trio of would-be leaders cried "no more gender baiting" yesterday, and used their wildcard to call off further out of school revelations, firing a courtier,  after earlier being pummelled by their own in tell-all white-anting. 

This is a massive moment in this match. 

All of their fighting talk and hints of a momentum shift after their win on Monday amounted to nothing. 

There mightn't be a more psychological game in politics than the election of leaders - certainly not on Labour's rose tinted planet. 

It's a cloak and dagger contest in every faction. But this is an embarrassingly public admission by a team on the back foot. 

Team National will cherish this. They won't be crowing publicly but they know they have delivered a hammer blow. 

Labour are down - and it's hard to see how they are going to get back up.

Silent T admitted as much after consulting with the party entrails and telling the umpires they were heading away for a rethink.

It doesn't look like there's any tool left in the box for Labour to fix their leadership issues.

And is there a toolbox to fix the demoralisation that must be infectious in their camp now? No.

Smashed by bans, fines and leaks left right and centre, they have now had it slammed home to them that they have a vessel that is vastly inferior to the National ship of state when it comes to leadership. 

Slightly paraphrased.

Yes, yesterday's admission that "Labour is unfit to govern" is decisive.

The original text can be viewed here.