Over the weekend of the local elections, all eyes turned North to Hartlepool and the so-called “red wall”. The weekend’s narrative quickly became one of disaster for Labour, and triumph for Johnson. 

 

However, something very different was happening in the South. The Conservatives lost control of county councils in Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, and Labour gained the mayoralties in the West of England and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough. 

 

In this episode of the Bylines Network podcast, Alex and Jules ask “are voters in the South turning away from the Conservatives?”. To help answer this, we speak to: 

- The journalist Jonn Elledge (@JonnElledge)

- Liz Brighouse, leader of the Labour group on Oxfordshire County Council

- Liz Webster, former Liberal Democrat PCC candidate in Swindon and Wiltshire, and Chair of Save British farming (@LizWebsterLD) 

Thank you to all of them for appearing on the episode, and be sure to check out their social media!