First Past the Post

A long night.

But OK (from a working perspective that is).

I hadn’t realised I knew so many people working for Manchester City Council, all very friendly. As in so many areas, the two cities do things very differently when it comes to the count. Salford finished a lot earlier.

The result. The Tory approach has been accused of being built on a tissue of lies, but the message was simple and effective and it worked. And went down well in traditional working class areas. Labour had a disastrous night, and lost seats in some extraordinary places.Too ambivalent on Brexit, and a leader who, however decent, many voters didn’t connect with at all. Not a good night for the smaller parties. Even the SNP- their big win will count for nought in the short term faced with a big Tory majority in The Commons.

Both Manchester and Salford remain solid Labour. The blip is the declaration of the vote for Manchester Central, a win for Lucy Powell. An MP I like.

I left the Charter Foyer at Manchester Central at 4.30am. Strange walking across the city centre at that time. Pouring with rain, vomit on the streets from pre Christmas over indulgence, and a watchful eye out for any dodgy characters. I was glad to get home, and to bed, this Friday 13th.