The Economist UK - 16.11.2019

28 Britain The EconomistNovember 16th 2019

S

am tarryis pounding the streets of Il-

ford South with an army of Labour activ-

ists. The party’s nomination for the safe

London seat became free earlier this year

after the sitting mp, Mike Gapes, defected

to another party in despair at Jeremy Cor-

byn’s leadership. Mr Tarry, a trade unionist,

got his first taste of politics campaigning

outside his predecessor’s office against the

Iraq war. Mr Gapes “is a warmonger—peo-

ple in Ilford still haven’t forgiven him for

that,” he claims. Labour’s new candidates

are quite different from those they are re-

placing, says Mr Tarry: “We aren’t afraid to

say we are socialists.”

Thirty-eight Labour mps and 52 Conser-

vatives have stood down or switched party

ahead of the election, three times as many

as in 2017 (though fewer than in some pre-

vious years). Most departing Labour mps

were at best lukewarm towards Mr Corbyn.

By contrast, the class of 2019 is closely

aligned with the party’s left-wing leader,

according to our analysis (see chart).

The Tories are undergoing a similar

makeover. Only four of the departing Tory

mps backed Leave in the referendum of

2016. The new generation seems to be
      much more Brexity—though we found that
      some Tories were oddly shy about how they
      voted three years ago. “I’m not telling you
      which side I backed in 2016,” says Colonel
      James Sunderland, who is standing in
      Bracknell. “The class of 2019 are new blood.
      We are going to draw a line under the last
      toxic parliament. We must not think in
      terms of being Remainers and Leavers.”
      Mr Tarry is representative of the kind of
      politician who will be arriving on the La-
      bour benches. Gone are the management

consultants and solicitors, with 45% of the

party’s new candidates in these vacated

seats coming from trade-union back-

grounds. In Birkenhead the regional secre-

tary of the Unite union, Mick Whitley, is re-

placing Frank Field, who is running as an

independent. “Frank walked away from the

party,” says Mr Whitley. “I’m totally op-

posed to his politics. We need radical sol-

utions for Birkenhead.”

Both parties have put forward more

women, who made up 25 of those stepping

down but who number 44 of the candidates

running in their place. British Future, a

think-tank, finds that if all parties win the

same seats as in 2017, there will be 67 eth-

nic-minority mps, up from 52 now.

Unlike Labour, and in spite of their pur-

suit of blue-collar voters, the Tories have

picked most of their candidates from pro-

fessional backgrounds. Westminster in-

siders—including five former mps—make

up nearly a third of candidates in vacated

seats. “People say, ‘Oh, what a posh twat’,”

admits Anthony Mangnall, a former spe-

cial adviser who is standing in Totnes. “But

I’m in debt...Right now, I’m sat in my car

overlooking Royal Naval College Dart-

mouth, and it’s pissing with rain, and I love

it—whether or not it’s glamorous.” 7

New candidates push Labour and the

Tories towards ideological poles

Incoming MPs

The class of 2019

Out with the old...

Britain, profile of outgoing MPs and their

replacement candidates, 2019 general election

Source:The Economist *In 2016 referendum

Labour(38 seats)

Women

Men

Outgoing Incoming

27

11

15

23

Corbyn-

sceptic

Pro-Corbyn

Outgoing Incoming

Neutral

Unknown

Unknown

9

21

8

24

7

5

2

Conservative(52 seats)

Women

Men

Outgoing Incoming

38

14

31

21

Backed

Leave*

Backed

Remain*

Outgoing Incoming

48

4

27

14

11

Farage against the machine

“It’s pointless. It doesn’t get us out of

anything. It doesn’t work at any level. It is

a gigantic con. We should not sell out to

this, it’s a Remainer’s Brexit. It’s virtually

worse than staying where we are.”

Nigel Farage, Brexit Party leader, slams

Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal on November

3rd. bbc

Farage in favour of the machine

“I thought to myself overnight, well, that

actually sounds a bit more like the Brexit

that we voted for. Trade, co-operation,

reciprocity with our European neigh-

bours is what we all want...If the prime

minister is saying he will make sure we

are not part of political alignment, that I

think is a significant step.”

A week later, Mr Farage explains why he

will not run Brexit Party candidates against

Tory incumbents after all

Democratic outrage

“I’m dumbfounded that this government

won’t release the report about Russian

influence, because every person who

votes in this country deserves to see that

report before your election happens.”

Hillary Clinton criticises the government’s

refusal to publish an intelligence report on

Russian meddling in elections. bbc

Boris backs free movement

“Northern Ireland has got a great deal.

You keep free movement. You keep ac-

cess to the single market.”

Mr Johnson defends his deal in Northern

Ireland, inadvertently talking up the bene-

fits of eumembership. Manufacturing ni

Pitch invasion

“The ukelection takes place in one

month. Can things still be turned

around?...The only words that come to

my mind today are simply, ‘Don’t give

up.’ In this match we had added time.

Now we are in extra time. Perhaps it will

even go to penalties.”

Donald Tusk, president of the European

Council and football fan, provides some

commentary on the contest

Speakers’ Corner

The campaign in quotes

Key lines from the third week of the election campaign