Not since 1945 has Labour had such a surge in its voter base. Tories try to salvage some of their pride by saying May got more votes than Blair in 1997 (but not as many as Major in 1992). But Corbyn achieved a much bigger increase, beating Blair in 2001 and 2005 and Gordon Brown in 2010 by a staggering 4 million votes. Indeed only Blair’s landslide in 1997 and Wilson’s win in 1966 exceed Corbyn. That is a spectacular political earthquake which fundamentally changes the political weather, although Labour is not in power. Moreover the majority of the members of the new House of Commons support a left leaning political agenda which is very close to Corbyn and very far from May. And in a hung parliament, where power is split from office, that counts for everything.
So May leads a government which will have to accept the maths of democracy that will drive her prospects from now on. Her manifesto is binned in its entirety and what is coming in the Queen’s Speech are some bolt ons to existing government programmes. All of it will take account of the new political tide which is seeping fast into every nook and cranny of the national culture.
Out are
Austerity
Hard Brexit
An Economy ruled by Markets
A Shrinking State
In Are
An Economy for the Many not the Few
Soft Brexit driven by economic necessity, not immigration
Financial stimulus through borrowing and printing
Growing State Responsibility
May’s survival depends upon her being able to deliver on the list of Ins. She has a majority of only six, even with the toxic DUP. So four unhappy people in a crucial vote and one of those can be an abstention, and it’s over to Corbyn.