Winning The Wall Game

Here in North West Durham, the Conservative Party holds few Parish Council seats and none on the unitary County Council. But now that it holds the parliamentary seat, it intends to field candidates in every ward at this year's local elections. And not just paper candidates from miles away, either. Truly, we are in a different world. A world that will presumably also include Sedgefield and Bishop Auckland.

In and around the failed Starmer Leadership, there is an attempt to redefine the Red Wall as the seats that Labour held onto in 2019. It is in those city centres that the Official Opposition therefore wants to cajole the Government into locating, for example, Treasury North. It would not quite be true that in that case, such things may as well stay in London. But it would not be very far wide of the mark.

And all three parties intend to vote for the new parliamentary boundaries. There is to be no reduction in the number of MPs. The only purpose of this exercise is to shift the political debate back towards the people and places that would be of any ordinary interest to those who were now back in control of all three parties.

There are 72 Red Wall seats, the 14 that the Conservative Party gained in 2017 and retained in 2019, and the 58 that it gained in 2019. All 72 of those MPs should set their faces against the abolition or the substantial redrawing of any of their seats. They should make it clear that they would vote against any such boundary changes, which would require the approval of the House of Commons. 72 rebels would be enough to defeat the Government. If there were an Opposition.