A Final Word on Elections

Well, I'm exhausted, having been up all night watching the election results come in.  I was determined to stay awake long enough to make out sure that Labour really did reach the magic 326 seat mark needed to secure a majority and to see my own constituency's result.  Just before I finally went to bed I'd not only seen Labour exceed 326 seats, but I also saw Jacob Rees Mogg lose his seat and Crapchester finally turn red.  So, I finally get to live in a constituency with a Labour MP.  More than that, I finally get to live in a consituency where I actually voted for the sitting MP.  As I drifted off to sleep, I thought that it just couldn't get any better.  But I woke up to find that Liz Truss had lost her seat.  Such joy!  I know, I know, I'm a very sad man for rejoicing in the misfortune of others - but I've waited a long time for this.  This election, I opted to watch it all unfold on ITV - I tried watching the BBC coverage, but it was all too frantic, with too many pundits and too many graphics.  ITV was far lower key, far calmer, with a minimum of graphics and a manageable number of pundits.  Plus, they didn't seem to be as determined as some others seemed to be, to 'big up' Farage and Reform UK.  They never lost sight of the real narrative - that Labour was about to achieve a massive majority, less than five years after suffering a big defeat, while the ruling Conservatives were decimated.

Nevertheless, the rival narratives are still being pushed, a lot of them centering on the fact that Labour's share of the vote was less than they achieved in 2019 under Corbyn.  Which is utterly meaningless, as in 2019 they lost the election and a lot of seats, whereas this time around, they were able to translate their share of the vote, although lower, into a landslide.  Likewise, we've had Reform supporters whining on about how they had four million votes but that only got them five MPs.  Well, tough shit.  That's the electoral system we have and which you have to work within.  Which is what Labour succeeded in doing this time around - they played the system and won.  The key to 'First Past the Post' isn't, in reality, overall vote share, but where those votes are cast.  All Corbyn did in 2019 was increase the Labour vote in seats that it already held, so they simply didn't help, while failing to focus on seats that, with a bit of effort, they might have won.  This election, Labour put the effort into seats where their research told them they had chances of making breakthroughs, (like Crapchester, where party workers were brought in from other constituencies they already held or had no realistic hope of taking), even if this meant putting some of the seats they held at risk.  It was a gamble that paid off, with far, far more seats won than lost.  Doubtless, we'll now have Reform embracing the cause of electoral reform.. Whereas those of us who do support electoral reform find ourselves saying 'Thank God for First Past the Post', as this time around it restricted the number of their nutters that extremists like Reform could get elected.  

Whatever narrative you choose to believe, the fact remains that we now have a Labour government with a substantive majority.  Do I think that that, consequently, the world will now be a bed of roses?  Obviously not.  But I do think that this government will at least be less corrupt, less incompetent and less elitist than the previous one.  I hope that they can begin to rebuild our public services and economy, while restoring the UK's reputation in the world by not braking international law and threatening to leave the ECHR.  Anyway, that's enough of elections and political rantings for now - time to get back to the usual trivia and pop culture fripperies this blog usually deals in.