When Keir Starmer got chosen to be the new Labour leader, a great many people, mostly centrists, breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, a sensible person to lead the opposition.
It's becoming increasingly obvious that this projection is not in fact a reality.
Where some accused Corbyn of ceding too much influence to the hard left, Keir now cow tows to the far right.
That might seem a little extreme, but it's sadly what he is and has been doing for quite some time.
And given his professional background, he almost certainly knows what he's doing, which makes it even more unforgivable.
Some examples, in case you hadn't noticed;
Protect families - throwing everyone who isn't part of a nuclear family, as defined by the heteronormative patriarchal society we live in, under the bus
Refusing to fight for freedom of movement - playing into the narrative that immigration is bad
Abstaining on state sanctioned murder - despite being a human rights lawyer who absolutely knows this is unacceptable
Failing to grasp the importance of Black Lives Matter - words matter, check your privilege
Now don't get me wrong, he is not as bad as Boris. By a long shot.
But why on earth are we putting up with this pathetic political dichotomy?
Is this really the best we can do as a country?
Are we really that self loathing?
Do we not believe we deserve better?
Because we do deserve better.
Having a political discourse based on perception has and is taking us down a very dangerous path. You'd think the events in America last week might have made us reflect about what we need to do to avoid such a scenario but instead we simply breathe a sigh of relief, pleased once more that we're not as bad as that lot, so everything isn't so bad.
Except it is, and being complacent is exactly what those of us who call ourselves progressives, who want a politics rooted in reality, can't afford to do. Unfortunately many of us are exhausted by the onslaught of doom, scrolling our way from crisis to crisis, overwhelmed and fatigued.
On the other end of the spectrum, in some senses, you have Ed Davey. Well meaning Ed, who, unlike Keir, does at least seem to be trying to be as inoffensive as possible.
But given how many radical policies the Lib Dems (of which I am one) have, it's disappointing to see most of what the party talks about these days is centred on carers. A worthy cause, yes, but unless the definition for carers includes women (and it is mostly women) who make huge sacrifices to provide unpaid care to children and older relatives, then I'm afraid it falls far short of the aim we should be shooting for, which is that no-one should have to struggle financially and end up in poverty as a result of factors beyond their control. The pandemic should have taught us this, if nothing else.
But instead, the politics of the centre left seems to be utterly lost, leaving a great many people feeling politically homeless, unheard and unrepresented.
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