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Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie Europe

Five Crucially Important but Frequently Ignored Facts About the 2019 Election

The Conservatives won the UK election convincingly. But beyond the bleeding obvious, there are five takeaways from the December 12 election.

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By Peter Kellner
Published on Dec 16, 2019
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Europe

The Europe Program in Washington explores the political and security developments within Europe, transatlantic relations, and Europe’s global role. Working in coordination with Carnegie Europe in Brussels, the program brings together U.S. and European policymakers and experts on strategic issues facing Europe.

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Source: Prospect Magazine

Here are five takeaways, beyond the bleeding obvious, from last week’s election.

  1. If you discount London, Britain’s major cities will send more Scottish nationalists than Conservatives to Westminster.

It’s worth noting where the Tories made little headway, not just where they made lots. The great majority of their gains were in small and medium-sized towns. Britain has 18 cities outside London with three or more constituencies. In total, they elect 73 MPs. In the new parliament, 53 will be Labour, 11 SNP, eight Conservative and one Liberal Democrat. There will still be no Tory MPs from Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham or Sheffield.

Nor did the Tories advance in London. They gained two seats and lost two, and still have just 21 of the capital’s 73 MPs. When the Conservatives last won a big national victory in 1987, they had more than two-thirds of London’s MPs.

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This article was originally published by Prospect Magazine.

About the Author

Peter Kellner

Former Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Europe

Kellner was a nonresident scholar at Carnegie Europe, where his research focused on Brexit, populism, and electoral democracy.

    Recent Work

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    The UK Braces for a Change of Direction

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Peter Kellner
Former Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Europe
Peter Kellner
EUPolitical ReformEuropeWestern EuropeUnited KingdomIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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