General Election 2019: a signal for change?
The results of the recent General Election surprised many people, including the Conservative party leadership, who now boast a majority of 80 in the Commons.
Since the landslide victory, the Conservatives best since Thatcher’s 1987 election victory and Labour’s worst since 1935, much of the public attention has refocused on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill that Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to bring back before Christmas.
But behind the fanfare of the election success many of the same issues remain. Is a second Scottish Independence vote on the table following SNP gains north of the border? Will an influx of new, northern Tory MPs redirect the focus of Westminster from London to the north? Will polices beyond the Tory heartlands form the staple of the upcoming Queen’s Speech? And will the NHS receive the appropriate attention post-election that it received during campaigning?
Then there is Labour, with 59 fewer MPs than before and with a leadership contest on its hands, when Corbyn eventually steps aside. But can a Labour challenge realistically be expected by the time of the next General Election, or will the damage of the 2019 election hit harder than the next Parliament? And who will lead them head-on into that challenge? Bookmakers place shadow cabinet member Rebecca Long-Bailey as the favourite, and with Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips, Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Emily Thornberry also likely to throw their names forward, a female leader seems both likely and apposite.
Michael Lyons, editor
