Progressives win the home counties

Eraserhead

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It’s a long time coming, and clearly involved an imperfect progressive alliance. But look at Oxfordshire. Extraordinary.
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Scepticalscribe

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Traditionally, and historically, the "Home Counties" are wealthy, - the sort of deeply rooted antique wealth that goes back centuries, if not the best part of a millenium - and would - therefore - be expected to vote (largely) Conservative (and Liberal, perhaps, in the local elections, on occasion, as a sort of protest).

But, not - or rarely - for Labour.

However, I will enter a caveat to that, and it is this:

Since 2016, a new cleavage - i.e. political division, cutting across and, in some cases, replacing, the old Left-Right divisions - has entered British (and, above all, English) politics, and it is how one voted on Brexit, whether one supported iBrexit, or voted to Remain in the EU, and this division has persisted since then, influencing other political campaigns, campaigns that - on the face of things - do not appear to have anything much to do with Europe, or the EU..

The old university cities (Oxford and Cambridge) were passionately, and strongly, Remain (as were the major cities - London, Bristol, Manchester etc), and this has been reflected since then in how these regiosn have cast their votes in general elections and local elections.

Thus, quite honestly, this result is not that much of a surprise to me.
 

Eraserhead

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Can you decipher us across the pond what this means and why it is unexpected?
All the big seats have been Conservative since the beginning of democracy. And they’ve lost a whole bunch of them.

albeit it’s a long time coming but this is the first part of the blue wall tumbling.
 
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Pretty cool, but also seems pretty late. Do you guys think Brexit will lead to the UK falling apart?
 

thekev

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I used to ask myself whether Ambassador Spock was (unexpectedly, and illogically) naive, or simply impressively and awesomely idealistic, and informed by the fact that his life was dedicated to preaching an ethical existence.

You're making me want to go back and re-watch the original series again. I'm most familiar with TNG, but I have watched them all at some point.
 

Scepticalscribe

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You're making me want to go back and re-watch the original series again. I'm most familiar with TNG, but I have watched them all at some point.

Actually, I was referring to Ambassador Spock in TNG; the gentleman - who in the face of evidence and logic both, not to mention in defiance of history and legend - but driven by idealism and informed by ethics - who sought to bring (honourable) peace between not just Vulcan and the Romulan Empire, but between the Romulans and the Federation, irrespective of what it cost him, personally and professionally.

Spock rocked.
 

Chew Toy McCoy

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I think one of the key differences between Europe and the US is the US didn’t get its ass handed to it in 2 world wars. Sure, we lost soldiers, but aside from Pearl Harbor the US soil largely went unscathed and civilians weren’t bombed into the dirt. I think as a result a lot of Europe went “Maybe we should stop sweeping the poor under the rug. Turns out they can make decisions with horrendous consequences.” It seems minus those lessons in the US the establishment still wants to paint the poor as public enemy #1, different flavors depending on which side you lean towards. I don’t want to give credit where it doesn’t belong, but it seems like Europe is starting to follow the US model under Trump, forgetting their own past and turning more towards nationalism.

I think even more than the governments, the people with the wealth and power, are well aware that maybe they have been gaining a lot more from a system that screws everybody else for their gains for a long time. Meanwhile, governments are stuck in "we got your back" tilt with the rich when the rich might feel they should actually back off a bit before the peasantry arrives at their gates.
 
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