What’s the big idea that could win the Conservatives the next election? Social mobility | Justine Greening

The levelling-up agenda secured Boris Johnson a landslide – it’s not too late for Rishi Sunak to make good on his broken promises

• Justine Greening was Conservative MP for Putney from 2005 to 2019

For political parties, general election victories revolve around extending as far as possible beyond their core vote, into the floating and middle-ground voters. But Boris Johnson’s 2019 landslide was unique in that it was built by fusing together core Conservative and Labour voters for the first time. In 2019, it was the middle ground that had nowhere else to go, scared by the prospect of a Corbyn government.

Yet last week’s local elections showed that coalition under pressure on both sides – “red wall” and “blue wall”. If Keir Starmer’s assertion that his party is on course for No 10 at next year’s general election is correct, it would represent a staggering collapse in support for this Conservative administration. The Blair-led Labour government’s 1997 landslide carried it through three elections. This Conservative administration would have seen its voting base collapse in just one term.

Justine Greening was Conservative MP for Putney from 2005 to 2019

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/T4sXdUp