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Wow. Helen and Stephen are just about still awake – and here with a summary of the night’s events and thoughts on what happens next (rapping and singing ensue). Plus: we get the reactions of our guests at the NS election night party.
Quotes of the Week:
Helen’s reaction to the result (to the tune of ‘Congratulations’ from Hamilton): “Congratulations on creating a new kind of stupid, open all the cages at the zoo kind of stupid, calling an election that you didn’t have to do kind of stupid.”
Stephen’s reaction to the result: “I’m so happy. This is the happiest I’ve been since my wedding day.”
Helen on what it means for Brexit: “After that vote last year people were saying that the 53% mandate was a mandate for the hardest form of Brexit – a vindication of incredibly right-wing values. And guess what, peoples’ views are nuanced, sometimes contradictory, and they’re not as simple as that binary result would suggest – and we were all being railroaded in one direction.”
Stephen on the Labour win in Canterbury: “The last time the Tories lost it, they lost it to William Gladstone’s Liberals – it’s such a good result.”
Helen on Nick Clegg’s loss: “If you didn’t find that upsetting then you have no heart, Stephen. I looked so genuinely crushed – and he gave a really great speech about the young.”
Stephen on Ben Bradshaw’s win in Exeter: “Not only has he hung on he has built a frickin’ maisonette in one of the crevices he was hanging on in. It does show the appeal and survivability of an unapologetically left wing platform is more extensive than we thought.”
Helen on Labour’s chances at a future election: “I think next time the dynamic of the campaign will be different – because there was a lot of focus, particularly by Labour canvassers, on ‘if you have any concerns about Jeremy Corbyn don’t worry cos he can’t be prime minister’.”
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