Ʈancs t ɖ fībrîl stet v ɖ Cnsrṿtiv parti, Wsminstr poḷtics sīmz t b loct intu ɖ tṛjectri v a rapidli dfletñ b’lūn. Poḷsiz n big îdīaz zūm intu ɖ fōrgrǎnd n jst az qcli rsid; miṇstirịl c’rirz rîz n fōl in onli a fy yirz. Ɖ onli constnts sīm t b a ppćl sns v crîsis n ɖ fīlñ ɖt, no matr hǎ bad it gts, Tori guvnmnt rmenz Britn’z dfōlt pziśn. Amd rseśn, mǎntñ poṿti n ɖ prospect v a strlñcrîsis, olmst nwn evr mnśnz a glẹrñ sistmfełr: ɖ fact ɖt w r rūtīnli guvnd bî ppl wɖ onli ɖ flimziist v ilectṛl mandets, f ɖe hv wn at ol.
Ɖ reḷvnt numbrz r starc. Ʈri yirz ago, Boris Jonsn léd ɖ Cnsrṿtiv parti t a “landslîd” ilex́nvicṭri n 80-sīt Comnz mjoṛti wɖ ɖ s’port v 29% v ɖ ilectṛt. Az f h ɖen hd pǎr bynd eni rstrent, h set abt trayñ t le west t enʈñ ɖt got in hiz we. Ẃn hiz misrūl bcem tù mć īvn fr hiz ǒn parti, h wz rplest bî Liz Trus, swept intu ofis bî 82,000 Tori membrz, hu repriznt a tîtanic 0.3% v ol votrz.
Trus’z viźn v slaśt taxz, dīreğletd enṭprîz̦onz, an īvn mor unfetrd Siti V Lundn, n fevrz śǎrd on ɖ rić mt b mor chiṛnt ɖn hr prīdisesr’z flelñ oṗtynizm, bt bynd Tori parti membrz, hu votd fr it? Ʈri yirz ago, ɖ Cnsrṿtivz ofrd ɖ ilectṛt a viźn v a nyli activ stet n an unrilentñ foc̣s on ɖ YC’z ic̣nomic iniqoḷtiz n imbaḷnsz: t qot fṛm ɖer maṇfesto, “miłnz mor invstd evri wīc in sayns, scūlz, aprenṭśps n infṛstrucćr ẃl cntrolñ dét”. Bʈ ɖoz plejz r nǎ ded: ɖ îdīa v guvnmntspendñ rīśepñ ɖ icoṇmi hz bn sîdlînd bî dīreğleśn n taxcuts, n ɖ Tōriz r sudnli telñ s ɖt scîroc̣tñ public borowñ z nʈñ t wuri abt.
Ɖ impreśn v a jîgantic hanbreic trn z cnfrmd bî ɖ end v ɖ ban on fracñ – smʈñ ɖ Tori maṇfesto sd wd hapn onli f it wr pruvd t b sef. Ɖ hol unhinjd pacij ofrd bî Trus n hr guvnmnt śrli ćîmz wɖ an īvn smōlr mnoṛti v ɖ ilectṛt ɖn ɖ wn ɖt pt Jonsn in pǎr, bt sć z ɖ deṃcratic graṿti ɖt Cnsrṿtizm maṇjz t dfî: ilex́nz nǎ fīl lîc mir pōzz fr breʈ bfr ẃćvr Tori cbal z cuṛntli in ćarj gts on wɖ dwñ ẃtvr it wonts.
T stet ɖ blîndñli obvịs, ɖ votñsistm ɖt līdz t ɖz ǎtcumz z hoplisli brocn. Bcz ɖ Tōriz’ s’port z īvnli spred arnd nonŕbn Ñgḷnd, it tc arnd 38,000 vots t ilect a Cnsrṿtiv MP in 2019. Fr Lebr, huz s’port z incrisñli clustrd in sitiz, ɖ figr wz 51,000. Ɖ Lib Dems, mnẃl, got wn sīt fr evri 334,000 vots cast, ẃl ɖ Grīnz’ solitri MP, Caṛlîn Lūc̣s, sat atop a mǎntin v 865,000.
Clirli, frst-past-ɖ-post z ifctivli rigd. It z ɖ rīzn ẃ Tori guvnmnts cn stl lord it ovr Scotḷnd n Wêlz, n ɖrfr a ci factr in ɖ freyñ v ɖ YC (yńnists òt t olso b alarmd at hǎ mć ɖ sistm asists ɖ SNP, huz vots p’ MP r abt 26,000).
Morovr, ʈancs t parḷmntri ẃipñ, ɖ xistñ votñsistm opnz ɖ we fr abṣlut pǎr t b capćrd bî smōl Tori fax́nz, ẃl matrz v hyj naśnl importns r subɉgetd t intrnl batlz – ẃć z ɖ besic stori v ɖ last six yirz v p’liticl hisṭri, startñ wɖ Devid Camṛn’z stypid dsiźn t cōl ɖ Brexit reḟrendm.
Frst past ɖ post olso criets a msplest imij v ɖ public ɖt w tù ofn mstec fr riaḷti. Last wīc ɖ lêtist Britiś sośl-attydz srve rvild plenti v strîcñ fîndñz: in 2011, fr xampl, 42% v rspondnts sd ɖt iṃgreśn wz “bad fr ɖ icoṇmi”, bt ɖt figr hz sins fōḷn t 20%. Mor ɖn haf v s nǎ ʈnc it’s nt importnt t b born in Britn t b “trūli Britiś”, p fṛm 25% in 2013.
Most Britiś ppl tec a libṛl pziśn on qsćnz v sx́l orịnteśn n jndr îdntti, līvñ ɖoz hu ʈnc ɖt sć vyz “hv gn tù far” in a smōl mnoṛti. F poḷtics ofn sīmz t rvolv arnd ɖ îdīa ɖt a big ćunc v ɖ ilectṛt z soṣ́li cnsrṿtiv n fentli netivist, ɖ rîtẉd tilt v ɖ votñ sistm hz a lot t d wɖ it. Pt anɖr we, ɖr z a rīzn hardli enwn woćz GB Nyz.
N so t Lebr. Last wīc bròt līct dītelz v ɖ parti’z consttyśnl rvy, léd bî Gordn Brǎn, ẃć wl apaṛntli rec̣mnd rplesñ ɖ Hǎs v Lordz wɖ an ilectd senit, ny pǎrz fr ɖ YC’z dvolvd guvnmnts, n mor bsdz. Ɖz ʈñz wd hardli b unwelcm, bt ɖ ci elimnts v ɖs ptiklr stori r clir: ɖ absns v enʈñ in Brǎn’z rvy abt hǎ w ilect ɖ Comnz, n ɖ līc’s rɖr sspiśs tîmñ.
Poulñ sjsts ɖt 83% v Lebr membrz nǎ s’port ilectṛl rform. In ɖ bildup t its confṛns ɖs wīc, abt 140 cnstitẏnsipartiz hv sbmitd mośnz cōlñ fr xacli ɖt. Unls bacrūm fixz gt in ɖ we, a reẓluśn pṛpozñ a ny votñsistm śd b dbetd on Munde afṭnun.
Last yir, a cōl fr pṛporśnl repriznteśn wz dfitd ʈancs t ɖ big yńnz – bt Ynisn n Ynît hv sins śiftd ɖer pziśn, n ɖ ppl in ćarj v an umbreḷgrūp cōld Lebr fr a Ny Dmocṛsi sǎnd confidnt ɖt ɖs yir śd si ɖer sîd win. An unḍstandñ v ɖ cōzl linc btwn ǎr endlis naśnl crîsīz n ɖ we w ilect ǎr MPz sīmz t hv wrct its we intu ɖ parti’z c’lectiv soul, n sć big Lebr figrz az ɖ Wlś frst ministr, Marc Drêcḟd, n ɖ Gretr Manćestr mẹr, Andi Brnm, nǎ s’port Lebr’z rformrz.
Unforćṇtli, Cir Starmr n hiz alîz stl si ćenjñ ǎr sistmz v pǎr n poḷtics az an iṛtetñ dstrax́n, n r clirli teṛfaid ɖt eni convseśnz abt cọliśnz n partnrśps wl b a gift t ɖ Tōriz. So Brǎn’z rport wl b frenzidli tōct p, ẃl eni s’xesfl pro-PR mośn wl b ignord. Ɖ Lebr līdr hz olrdi prīemtivli rūld ǎt eni mnśn v votñ rform in ɖ parti’z nxt maṇfesto, a stans cupld wɖ hiz yźl insistns ɖt h wl nt b “dwñ eni dīlz gwñ intu ɖ ilex́n or cmñ ǎt v ɖ ilex́n”.
In uɖr wrdz: ǎr sistmz v pǎr cn b tncrd wɖ bt nt funḍmnṭli ćenjd. Sć z yt anɖr sriyl aspect v ǎr poḷtics: ɖ fact ɖt a parti ɖt nǎ sīmz oṿẃlmñli in fevr v clozñ Britn’z hyj deṃcratic gaps z stl léd bî ppl hu ʈnc ǎr brocn ilectṛl mśīṇri cn b yzd fr pṛgresiv endz.
Wɖ gd rīzn, ɖ Dêli Meil grevli wornz ɖt “scrapñ frst past ɖ post cd pt ɖ Tōriz ǎt v pǎr fr a jeṇreśn”, bt Lebr’z līdrśp sīmz t wont t ple bî ɖ yźl rūlz: jeḷsli gardñ ɖ parti’z custmri rǒl az Wsminstr’z runr-up, n hopñ ɖt it wl cari on gtñ its custmri trn in pǎr wns evri 15 or 20 yirz. Ɖr z a prîs t pe fr ɖt stubņis, n w r siyñ it mor vividli ɖn evr: unhinjd poḷtics n ɖ prospect v yt anɖr unrepriznttiv Tori clīc rīcñ haṿc.
