SARAH VINE: Smug, boastful, and spewing disgusting insults. What makes leftists so mean — even when they win?

When you’ve been in politics as long as I have, you get used to certain levels of cruelty. But there’s one thing I’ll never get used to: the sheer tribal spite of the self-satisfied left.

Even the prospect of impending victory cannot alleviate this – on the contrary, it seems to be making matters worse. Carol Vorderman, the self-styled anti-Tory avenger, was among the first to kick yesterday.

“Looks like Christmas is almost here and the Tory turkey is about to get stuffed,” she wrote on X. “No more sleep,” wrote author and political commentator Ian Dunt. “This is happening. Kick these bastards out.”

He added: “Today there is no civic duty, only civic pleasure.”

“The Tories are finished, so rejoice,” tweeted our old friend Owen Jones. Even Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, whom I tend to think of as one of the adults, posted a sneering response to Rishi Sunak’s tweet: “They’re lying to the end. Give them the defeat they deserve.”

Writer Femi Oluwole took the unsavory idea one more step further, tweeting alongside a photo of a cemetery: “Join me for a Tory funeral at 8pm.”

For me, this has always been a clear dividing line in politics. The way the so-called caring left seems so full of hatred for its political opponents — while those on the center-right are invariably much more reserved. In many ways, this mirrors the behavior of eco-extremists, trans activists, or pro-Palestinian protesters.

They seem to have a strong need to demonize their opponents, which makes any rational debate impossible. It’s a dark, drooling, finger-pointing hatred, on a very personal level.

I just don’t understand why. My point is that I don’t hate Keir Starmer or Angela Rayner as people; I just disagree with their politics. In Rayner’s case, I admire her courage and ability. But just because her politics are at odds with mine doesn’t mean I wish her ill.

From their point of view, that is absolutely not true. Rayner, as we well know, regards the Tories as “rubbish”. And as election night approached, the general crowing and ecstasy only worsened. “I’ll be traipsing around the telly and radio tonight, giving the Tories hell wherever I can,” enthused the delightful Vorderman in X, as the news of Labour’s huge majority began to trickle in.

Okay, the Conservatives haven’t exactly been all that famous lately – but they’re still people we’re talking about. And despite what Vorderman says, not all of them are crooks.

I texted an activist friend to ask if she’d like to come for a drink. “Thanks, love,” she replied. “So many of my friends are about to lose their jobs, some their only source of income, so I’m going to stay home so I can talk to people and partners when they come over.”

Lord Mandelson appeared on the BBC looking more pleased than ever and “giggling”, according to Laura Kuenssberg, while Angela Rayner delivered a carefully measured response to the news of the Conservative defeat – although she was rather more excited on ITV.

The BBC then spent almost ten minutes humiliating and denigrated Steve Baker, taunting him that he had less than a 1 per cent chance of keeping his seat.

Soon the hashtag #ToryWipeout2024 was trending on X. My old Mail on Sunday colleague Jay Rayner helpfully tweeted “Tory Rat’s (sic) in a Sack Blame Drinking Game” for his followers to enjoy. Jonathan Pie (578,000 followers) commented: “Looking back on four years of Tory rule is like looking back on the traumatic vindaloo shit you just made in the loo.”

A photo of Miriam Margolyes, true to form, holding a bag with the words “F*** the Tories” written on it has appeared online.

In fairness, Ed Balls and George Osborne on ITV gave some really restrained and insightful commentary, even though both – for different reasons – had personal reasons to be happy.

The Sky TV team could barely contain their delight – when the exit poll results were announced, all that could be heard were groans of unabashed pleasure from Kay Burley. Beth Rigby, Sky’s political editor, tweeted afterwards: “Exit poll hot take: Starmer said he had to climb a mountain to win. He’s just climbed Everest and launched himself into orbit.”

Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, called it an “absolutely phenomenal result” in an interview with the BBC, with a broad smile on her face.

There were boos outside Broadcasting House for the Tories. But the Labour government had clearly been carefully advised not to be too pleased. The BBC’s Wes Streeting was remarkably restrained, using some excellent nautical metaphors to express his delight.

Burnham clearly didn’t get that particular memo and threw his hands up in the air while the rest of the Sky team made various noises of ecstasy.

There was also a degree of friendly fire, with Darren Grimes, a prominent Brexiteer, declaring on GB News: “You deserve, I’m afraid, absolutely everything you’re getting tonight,” to the delight of the channel’s live audience.

Vorderman, dressed from head to toe, went on a victory tour of the TV studios, expressing disappointment that the exit poll predicted the Conservatives would still be in second place. “I want them to be third!”

But while Labour supporters celebrated their victory, it became increasingly obvious that neither side had fully appreciated Nigel’s role.

The first results announced of the evening, from Houghton and Sunderland South, showed the scale of the damage Reform had done to the Tories, giving Farage’s party second place and helping to give Labour’s Bridget Phillipson a comfortable victory despite actually losing some votes.

In Sunderland, the Reform and Conservative votes were together just 1,000 behind Labour. If this result is replicated across the board, Farage will rightly claim a Pyrrhic victory. As Osborne pointed out, it was not so much a big vote of confidence in Labour as a big vote against the Conservatives.

Big win of the night: a lady in a magnificent hat announcing Blyth and Ashington. Again, Labour hardly rose at all – but Reform decimated the Conservatives by over 10,000 votes.

If this pattern repeats itself, it will pose a huge problem for what remains of the Conservative Party. It shows the strength of feeling to the right of politics—and that is a uniquely conservative problem.

Indeed, so many of the problems that the party has grappled with internally, and which have caused so much chaos, have stemmed from this internal division. This result will not unite these factions and will present a huge conundrum for whoever takes over from Sunak. It is an analogous problem to the one that Starmer faced – and dealt with effectively – in his own party, in bringing the far-left Corbynistas under his control.

Whoever takes power, the Conservatives will have to find a way to reach these voters. They have shown what they think of a Conservative Party seen as too soft on issues like immigration and too bullish on issues like tax. It is a hard lesson, but the voters have spoken. If the Conservatives are to have any way back, they have no choice but to listen.