Labour Landslide

23 to 1, to be precise.

I decided to conduct my own straw poll today. The moor is sodden and I’m fed up with falling over and getting wet feet, so I decided to take a jog around town on the streets. I thought I’d keep myself interested by totting up the declaration of support for the local candidates as displayed on the boards and windows of houses. A casual observation in Leeds the other day led me to conclude that red was triumphing over blue by a long way. Indeed, I’m pretty sure I never spotted a single Tory poster. What would the roads of Ilkley hold in store?

I’m fortunate that, unlike the majority of voters in our ridiculous first-past-the-post system, my own vote actually counts for something. Being twinned with Keighley puts Ilkley in a marginal constituency. In the 2017 election, Labour’s John Grogan turned around a 3,053 vote defeat in 2015 to become the sitting MP with a slim majority of just 249. It looks likely to be just as close again.

The first thing to note from my poll was the low turnout. There was a paucity of publicity for either main party. I must have jogged about 5 miles, taking care to pick a representative route, including both the posh and less posh ends of town, big and small houses alike. In all that distance I only found 24 overtly partisan households. I’m sure there was a day when there would have been a lot more.

I thought it was going to be a whitewash until the very last one I found, not far from home. If it wasn’t for that one blue board I wouldn’t even have known the name of the Conservative candidate. Assuming this poll is not actually representative of overall voting intention, the inference has to be that Conservative voters are embarrassed to be seen as such. And so they should be. I always try to have respect for the religion and politics of others, but I’m finding it hard at this time to have any respect for people prepared to vote for Boris Johnson. It’s not surprising to me that so few people want to own up to the fact. Perhaps that should make those people think again. If you can’t wear your politics on your sleeve, perhaps you should reconsider those politics. 

This election is bigger than Brexit. It’s bigger than political ideologies. For me, personally, it’s mostly about removing a political party that doesn’t care for much other than its own survival and the prosperity of its backers. It should be said that I have issues with all the main political parties, particularly Labour’s refusal to engage with electoral reform. In an ideal world, with a properly democratic electoral system, I would vote Green, as I’m sure millions of others would alongside me. But that’s not a sensible choice where I live. At least Labour has some serious and genuine intent when it comes to the Climate Emergency and tackling the inequality that blights our society. 

This is, without a doubt, the most important election of my lifetime. The result is going to make a huge difference to the kind of country we are leaving for the next generation. I’m posting this piece with no expectation of changing anyone’s mind but I have to put the words out there, asking people to consider voting tactically where that’s necessary. Vote against moral bankruptcy. Vote for change. At least you’ll be able to tell your children and grandchildren that you took the high ground. For those who are concerned that Labour will bankrupt the economy, it won’t matter if we don’t put the environment first. The point where the climate is broken beyond repair is not far away. Now is the time to borrow. We borrow from the future to help shore up the future. Not that there’s anything to be frightened by in the Labour Manifesto, nothing that is truly radical, nothing that isn’t already seen to be working perfectly well elsewhere in Europe. Show some courage folks.

Forrest and I have got a serious amount of alcohol in for the night. I’m still hoping we can use it to celebrate rather than pour it down to drown our sorrows. I’ve never, ever cared so much.