We didn't especially appreciate it at the time, but until 2016, politics in most of the UK was broadly predictable. Except in the occasional landslide year like 1983 or 1997, the bulk of the electoral landscape was fixed and changes outside the marginal seats were gradual not jolting. Then came 2016, Brexit, Trump, voter realignment, Corbyn, Boris, Truss, Starmer, Farage and Polanski. By the end of this process, the old certainties which defined our historic two-Party duopoly had been shattered. Furthermore, the very concept of a safe seat has now been largely eradicated. In this new age of five Party politics, this electoral insecurity for our politicians now mirrors the more grave fears around economic security and national security which are shared by politicians and the voters alike. Furthermore, the end of the old electoral certainties will have a more profound effect on how councils operate.
The Greens achieved historic victories in London in Hackney, Lewisham and Waltham Forest alongside making significant gains against Labour in large cities such as Birmingham and Manchester. While the results were not quite the breakthrough some had predicted, Zak Polanski's Party is now a serious challenger to Labour on the Left of British politics.
