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Stephen Bush

πŸ‘€ Speaker
397 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

And they will, of course, hold on to Kensington, which has a very cosmopolitan European and also various British ethnic minorities there.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

Now,

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

The thing is, is there are very few seats in the United Kingdom which are both high affluence, high ethnic diversity, and the Liberal Democrats are not a factor in, right?

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

So essentially, the conservative line on this is, hey, look, guys, if you look at the most eccentric seats in British politics...

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

We're on our way.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

But if you look at the traditional backbone of the Conservative Party, they're in real, real trouble.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

Yeah, no, I mean, it's not.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

I mean, so obviously the important caveat is in Wales, Plaid Cymru are running on a platform of more powers for the parliament.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

To be honest, the other parties have talked more about the constitution than they have because in lots of the polls, Plaid Cymru are more popular than the idea of Welsh independence.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

And it's very hard to say because the other parties, other than Reform and Plaid Cymru, are so close together under their new electoral system.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

You could have a situation where

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

The only viable alternative is some kind of Plaid Cymru-Labour coalition arrangement similar to the One Wales deal from 2007 to 2011, but with the parties reversed.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

You could end up in a situation where the Labour Party vanishes from the Senate because of how the new system was.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

Similarly, you have a situation where the Conservatives vanish from the Senate, and all of that will change the mood music quite significantly.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

But yeah, I mean, I think the big defeat for unionism in these elections are...

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

The SNP have been in power for 19 years.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

Their policy record is not much to write over.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

They've been mired in scandal.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

They changed leaders three times, just as the Conservatives did in the last Parliament.

FT News Briefing
Political Fix Election special: snap analysis

And unlike the Conservatives who were sharply repudiated, they will almost certainly be re-elected for another term.