A reminder that the so-called "Boris Bounce" is more of a bobble by comparison with previous new prime ministers. And both big parties are operating well below their 2017 level.
The two key features of the Wales @yougov poll are (1) the level of fragmentation, with the combined Con/Lab vote below 50%; & (2) the astonishing collapse of the Labour vote in its historic heartlands. The Big Two are both listing badly - but at present, Labour is sinking faster
@YouGov It's also worth noting how much Brexit commentary, with its legitimate emphasis on Englishness, ignores the fact that Wales also voted to Leave, and the extent to which Brexit continues to rewire Welsh, as well as English, politics.
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The 2024 election saw the worst Conservative defeat in history, producing their lowest number of seats, lowest vote share & highest number of ministers unseated.
I've been writing about the "crisis of Conservatism" for years, and have collected some key pieces below. ⬇️ [THREAD]
In 2019 I wrote in the @NewStatesman about "The Closing of the Conservative Mind".
"British Conservatism has broken with three of its most important traditions. It has stopped thinking, it has stopped “conserving” & it has lost its suspicion of ideology". newstatesman.com/politics/2019/…
Later in 2019, I explored the abuse of history in talk of "Global Britain", showing how Boris Johnson & his allies "use the past to imagine the future".
"As so often, history becomes the mask worn by ideology, when it wants to be mistaken for experience". newstatesman.com/politics/2019/…
@lewis_goodall 1. The case for televising Parliament is that voters should know what their elected representatives are saying and doing in their name, so that we can hold them to account at the ballot box.
All those involved are public officials, who are directly responsible to those outside.
2. By contrast, court cases involve private citizens - most of whom have been accused of no crime, but who may be recounting situations of extreme distress, trauma or personal embarrassment.
Those involved are accountable for their conduct, not to public opinion, but to the law.