Talking Politics 200: One Election or Many?
The Editors
In the latest episode of the Talking Politics podcast, David Runciman, Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Mike Kenny ask if this is one election or many. Do national vote shares mean much any more, given all the regional variations? How is the Remain Alliance meant to work? Is this a Brexit election? And is 2015 or 2017 (or neither) a better guide to 2019? They also discuss the recent election in Spain and explore parallels between gridlock there and possible gridlock here.
‘If you then start to pivot towards “Remain is more important” will that actually begin to cut into the thinking of Tory Remainers who, to some degree, are willing to contemplate the Lib Dems? That, to me, introduces a really interesting uncertainty. One of the many ways in which Brexit is destabilising is the way in which Remain works as a priority for parties differs. Because it differs locally, it differs in terms of their calculations of what’s in their party interest.’ – Mike Kenny
Related pieces in the LRB:
David Runciman on the 2017 election (June 2017)
William Davies: Reasons for Corbyn (July 2017)
James Meek: Travels in Remainia (October 2019)