As Storm Dennis raged, it would have been easy to cast the Labour leadership hustings in Glasgow yesterday as an event taking place under a cloud – both literally and metaphorically.
Believe it or not, though, there was an unmistakable air of optimism swirling around the SEC’s Lomond Auditorium as the three candidates took to the stage.
Whether that turns out to be wildly misplaced will depend on the ability of party members to elect the right one as leader.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Keir Starmer all have clear strengths.
All are arguably more likely to prove an electoral force than the man they are vying to succeed.
But if Boris Johnson is to be defeated, members need to accept there is a compromise to be struck between left-wing principle and winning.
Labour lost the general election as a result of three main factors.
Brexit had left the party hopelessly exposed, with target voters split down the middle on an issue over which Jeremy Corbyn disastrously tried to sit on the fence.
Claims of anti-Semitism created a stench that the leadership proved simply incapable of dispelling.
Lastly, the public didn’t have faith in Corbyn and his shadow cabinet’s ability to deliver a radical manifesto that promised too much too quickly.
Come the next election, Brexit is likely to be a largely settled issue.
For the new Labour leader, however, their ability to address the other two issues will define them.
On the basis of yesterday’s performance, and each candidate’s background, it is difficult not to conclude Starmer is the most likely to do that.
On the key policy issues, he had a coherent and believable proposal delivered with confidence.
Tellingly, he was also the only candidate to state in the simplest possible language that the absolute top priority for the next leader was to win.
Should Johnson survive in No10, the path to defeating him will lie in convincing the public he is a posh incompetent whose career is the product of undeserved Etonian privilege.
Who better to deliver that message than a man from a normal background – contrary to public perception Starmer’s mum was a nurse and dad a tool maker – who has a record of high achievement on his own merit?
To rise to lead any large organisation is not easy, and anyone who spends time with lawyers will know that to become head of the Crown Prosecution Service is an impressive feat.
Starmer’s main weakness is that he is a man – and it is an issue that Labour is yet to have a female leader.
But at such a critical time for the party it would be folly to overlook the best qualified candidate.
Nandy, while undoubtedly a future leader, is not quite the finished product.
And although a decent and principled MP who deserves to be in any shadow cabinet, Long-Bailey is destined to be viewed as the continuity Corbyn candidate.
Even if that was not the case, she hasn’t displayed the political nous thus far to lead a major party.
All candidates set out in the strongest possible terms yesterday their belief Labour will never win a general election without winning again in Scotland.
It is interesting therefore that they all went on to diverge spectacularly on the key Scottish question.
When asked whether they thought Holyrood should have the power to hold a second independence referendum Starmer said it was an “interesting question” before refusing to answer it.
Nandy by contrast has consistently been the most stridently Unionist, while Long-Bailey is clearly open to allowing another vote.
It is unlikely to be a question of relevance any time soon, however.
The first thing they need to do is win.
