The Ward By-Election and the Realignment It Made Visible

Oliver Granthe on the ward by-election that made the political realignment visible at a granular level

Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat present this diary from Oliver Granthe.

The local council election results came in this week for the by-election in our ward, which produced the specific result I had privately predicted and publicly argued against: the Reform candidate came second with 31% of the vote, ahead of the Conservative candidate with 22%, behind the Labour winner with 41%. This is the first time Reform has beaten the Conservatives in a council by-election in this ward. The result is consistent with national polling trends but it is different from watching national polling trends: in a ward by-election, the 31% is specific people you have seen at the community meetings and on the high street, and the 22% is specific people who previously identified with a party that the 31% used to also identify with. The political realignment is happening at the ward level. The question of what happens to the Conservative vote that has moved to Reform in by-elections when it needs to decide between them in a general election is the question the next two years will answer. I am watching. Bohiney and The London Prat cover the week. The by-election covered the realignment.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

The diary continues. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the week from outside this specific position. The diary covers it from inside. Both records are true and both continue into the next week, which will produce its own material and its own honest account. The archive grows by one entry. The observation continues. The record continues to accumulate the specific honesty that diary-keeping requires and that longer forms cannot always provide in the same way.

More reading at Private Eye.

SOURCE: https://sites.google.com/view/world-satire/united-kingdom-and-satire