Analysis of the 2019 General Election result
17th December 2019
The result of the 2019 General Election was desperate for anyone who values honesty, integrity, compassion, sustainable travel, close relations with our European neighbours, a habitable planet, tolerance and respect for different races and cultures, and much more.
The Conservative Party, which briefly masqueraded as fictional independent fact-checking organisation factcheckUK, won more votes than any other single party - nearly 14 million, and 43.6% of all votes.
If you listened to cock-a-hoop Tories in the aftermath of the election, you would think that a majority of British people had voted for them, and given them an 'overwhelming mandate'. But they didn't.
| Conservative claims | The reality |
|---|---|
| They won a huge majority. |
The Conservatives won a minority of the votes, but under the
UK's skewed electoral system, they get a majority of MPs. |
| This gives them a mandate to press ahead with their disastrous
Brexit project. |
The number of people who voted for them was nearly 14 million -
2 million less than voted against Brexit in the 2016 Referendum. Even if you total votes for the Conservative and Brexit parties, they amount to 14.5 million, or 45.6% of votes cast; 54.4% of voters, or 17.4 million people, voted against them. |
| This gives them a mandate to press ahead with their disastrous
Brexit project. |
The most likely explanation for the election result is that
voters rejected Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate for Prime Minister. If the Conservatives wish to find out whether there is a majority in favour of Brexit in 2019 or 2020, they should call a second Referendum. |
| They have a mandate for their policies. |
The Conservative manifesto was a shoddy document, with
next-to-no detail on policies. Their campaign was even worse: a
mixture of dishonest claims, and endless repetition of a vacuous
three-word slogan. They haven't presented a programme of policies to the British people, so it would be hard to argue that any new measures have been approved and authorised by the electorate. |
It's worth stating again the number of people who voted against the Conservatives: 17.4 million.
In support of the disastrous Brexit project, it has been said again and again and again that 17.4 million is a huge number of people, and it would be wrong and "a betrayal" to ignore them. Has that suddenly changed?
The majority who didn't vote for the Conservatives/factcheckUK aren't just a bit disappointed. We are sickened by the dishonest, divisive and self-serving politics represented by Theresa May then Boris Johnson since the 2016 Referendum. A few trite post-election words about "healing" don't change that.
Vote Leave, Johnson and the Conservatives have created bitter divisions in this country. If it had any genuine intention to reunite Britain, the new government could show humility. It could demonstrate a will to compromise, starting by giving us a People's Vote on Brexit.
Otherwise, Johnson's government will continue to represent a minority of the population, and the bitter divisions will worsen.
'Rewarding' constituencies that voted Conservative
As for pouring investment into constituencies that voted in a Conservative MP - really? Is that how government is supposed to work? You reward areas that voted for your party, and punish others? Is that not sailing perilously close to corruption?
Sterling: up and down in a few days
Immediately after the election result, the value of sterling increased, apparently as markets were relieved that there will be a majority government, and Jeremy Corbyn will not be Prime Minister.
Today, the gains have been lost again, as the markets realise that Brexit still means Brexit (ie it's still a disaster, and it is the cause of sterling's plummet in value since the Referendum).
It is also because Johnson has announced he intends to legislate to prevent an extension of the transition period beyond 31st December 2020. Only currency speculators betting against the pound will be pleased about that.