In the midst of a glorious election night for the Conservatives on 7 May, London stubbornly resisted the swing across the rest of the country and went a darker shade of red. Why is that and why does it matter when overall we have a majority Conservative government for the first time in 18 years?
The loss of four London seats (including mine) to Labour may have been offset by the high profile gain of Vince Cable Twickenham, and by us retaining Labour’s number one target of Hendon after a spectacular result from Matthew Offord. But to ignore what is going on elsewhere would simply put future working Conservative majorities at risk. Take a look at seats like Croydon Central, Chipping Barnet and Enfield Southgate, where majorities were cut by between 2,000 and 3,000 votes, intensifying their vulnerability in 2020.
So what’s happening in London that is not really happening elsewhere?
I have written before about the consequences of not achieving an electoral breakthrough with the black and minority ethnic groups across London.
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