🇪🇺 🎉 EU Election Roundup
Hello, and welcome to a special edition of the Inside The Newsroom newsletter. I was privileged enough to work the 10pm-6am graveyard shift Sunday night monitoring the Guardian’s live election tracker (click on the damn link!), and some groundbreaking stuff went down. Below is a summary with as many colorful graphics I could find…
Nigel Does It Again
The big winner in the UK was Nigel Farage’s newly-formed Brexit Party. The former UKIP leader quit his old party back in December because, wait for it, UKIP had become “too far-right”. With 32 per cent of the vote, the Brexit Party picked up 29 seats, almost double the number of seats than the Liberal Democrats who came in second with 16 MEPs. It’s hard to say it wasn’t Farage’s night.
Was There a Trend Then?
Finding patterns and trends in the immediate aftermath of an election is always tricky, but a clear message was sent by voters. The Brexit Party (leave), the Liberal Democrats and Greens (both remain) all campaigned with clear messages, and were rewarded with 75 per cent of the vote. In contrast, the Conservative and Labour parties, whose MPs have sat on one side of the Brexit-fence or the other got absolutely decimated, losing a combined 25 seats.
John Burn-Murdoch, the Financial Times
What Happened on the Continent?
A similar trend took place elsewhere in Europe, as the centre-left Social Democrats and centre-right European People’s Party lost 45 and 41 seats, respectively. Meanwhile the Lib Dems and Greens snapped up a combined 61 seats on the left, while on the right the Freedom and Direct Democracy and Nationalists parties gained 64 seats. So, big gains for the left and right, just not for the usual two power blocs.
Meanwhile in the Conservative Party Leadership Race…
After Theresa May’s tearful resignation speech on Friday was followed by the collapse of the Tories in the election this weekend, the leadership race is well under way. Ten candidates have thrown their hat in the ring so far, with the current favorite being the blonde bombshell that is Boris Johnson. Below is how each of the candidates voted on the Brexit deal.
And What’s Jezza Up To?
It wasn’t as bad a night for Labour as the Tories, but Jeremy Corbyn’s party still got walloped by voters, and has since pledged to support a second referendum. If you’ve been following the Brexit shitshow, you might be thinking you’ve heard this before from Corbyn. While Labour’s preference would still be a general election, the terrible EU election results forced Corbyn’s hand by backing a second referendum instead of just keeping it as an option up his sleeve.
Rowena Mason and Jessica Elgot, the Guardian
So What Next For the UK?
Good question. Now that the EU elections are over, the Conservative Party leadership race will take centre stage, and should be decided within the next couple of months. What happens after that will depend on who’s chosen to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister. As is stands, the UK is in for a spooky departure from the EU on October 31, but that could change if parliament agrees on a withdrawal deal.
Brian Wheeler, Paul Seddon and Richard Morris, the BBC
Up next on the podcast…
Domonique Foxworth of ESPN on the podcast. Domonique covers the intersection between sports, race and culture for ESPN’s The Undefeated, so he’ll make for a gripping podcast so keep an eye out for the newsletter in your inbox. Subscribe here.
Last time…
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