Labour is poll-axed as Johnson’s Tories smash down the red wall
The first December election since 1923 brought a turbulent political year to a close. Rob Parsons reports on the final part of a review of 2019.
SEPTEMBER
Echoing his predecessor’s troubles earlier in the year, Boris Johnson faces the task of getting a Brexit deal that Parliament will approve. As he tried to find a way through with European leaders, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg causes a diplomatic incident by holding a press conference with an empty podium where the PM should be.
Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks is ruled to be unlawful by the Supreme Court. Yorkshireborn Supreme Court President Lady Hale says it was wrong to stop MPs carrying out duties in the run-up to the Brexit deadline on 31 October.
Meanwhile, 21 senior Tories who rebel against the PM in a bid to block a no-deal, including former Chancellor Philip Hammond, have the Whip removed. The group were among the 328 MPs who voted against the Prime Minister in a bid to stop the UK from crashing out of the EU.
The Yorkshire Post reveals that Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have a shared history which can be traced back to a small North Yorkshire town where their ancestors lived as next-door neighbours.
Speaker John Bercow announces he will step down, prompting tributes and brickbats from the competing factions in the Commons.
Jeremy Corbyn promises to “invest in Crossrail for the North” in a wide-ranging speech at Labour’s annual conference. At the Liberal Democrat conference, leader Jo Swinson vows to cancel Brexit if her party forms the Government.
Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff lashes out at the PM in the Commons, saying his use of the words ‘‘Surrender Act’’ and ‘‘betrayal’’ opens politicians up to abuse and threats. Mr Johnson tells Miss Sherriff, a friend of murdered MP Jo Cox:
“I’ve never heard such humbug in all my life.”
Boris Johnson gives a major speech at the Convention of the North in Rotherham, promising to hand control of the North’s railways back to northern leaders and open up negotiations with Leeds and West Yorkshire to end the devolution deadlock.
Local leaders took advantage of the interest in the North.
The General Election brought the interests of northern voters to the forefront.
Devolution talks in West Yorkshire make progress, though the delayed Sheffield City Region deal remains incomplete.
OCTOBER
Boris Johnson agrees a new Brexit deal with the EU. Under the agreement, Northern Ireland will stay inside the UK customs territory, but UK authorities will have to collect EU tariffs for goods that are “at risk of entering the single market”. MPs approve the PM’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill on its first hurdle through the Commons. But in a vote straight after they reject
the planned timetable to get the bill through Parliament, forcing the PM to pause the legislation as it will not pass by the Brexit deadline of October 31.
Relatives of those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire call for prosecutions of those “at the top” after a damning report found the London Fire Brigade breached national guidelines through “gravely inadequate” preparation.
Ministers are accused by five Leeds MPs of dithering “for years” and “failing to get a grip” of the crisis surrounding rail operator Northern. Labour politicians write to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps
to demand the company is immediately stripped of its franchise.
Wakefield Council leader Peter Box is announced as the new chairman of troubled tourism agency, Welcome to Yorkshire. He replaces Ron McMillan, who stood down in the aftermath of the scandal over former chief executive Sir Gary Verity.
After three unsuccessful attempts to call a General Election, Boris Johnson finally persuades the Commons to back his bid to go to the country. It will be the first December election since 1923.
Conflicting reports emerge about whether the Leeds element of HS2 will be axed as part of the Government-commissioned Oakervee review, with costs spiralling on the controversial high speed rail project.
NOVEMBER
The Government places a moratorium on fracking in November after protests, legal challenges and planning rejections .
The Tories are forced onto the defensive in the early days of the election campaign as “biblical” rainfall in South Yorkshire and the East Midlands leaves hundreds of homes flooded. After Boris Johnson declares the flooding is not a national emergency, Jeremy Corbyn claims it would have been had it happened in Surrey. The PM later returns to South Yorkshire to face the anger of locals and unveils a series of policies to help the stricken areas recover.
The Brexit Party hands the Conservatives a boost by promising to stand candidates only in Labour-held seats, amid fears Nigel Farage’s outfit will cost the Tories a majority. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru form a Remain Alliance which means only one of the parties will stand in certain target seats.
The views of Yorkshire voters are in the spotlight during the election campaign. A Question Time Leaders Special, where Jeremy Corbyn promised to stay neutral on Brexit in any future referendum, is held in Sheffield, and there are less high-profile TV debates in York and Leeds. Question Time is held in Hull and Newsnight comes to the marginal seat of Wakefield to take the temperature.
DECEMBER
A story in the Yorkshire Evening Post about a young boy forced to sleep on the floor of the Leeds General Infirmary due to a lack of bed becomes a huge political issue. The NHS trust apologised while Health Secretary Matt Hancock made an emergency visit to talk to hospital bosses in Leeds, encountering angry protesters outside. Labour describe the image as a symptom of the crisis in the NHS, while uncorroborated claims surface online that the picture has been faked.
Boris Johnson’s Government is returned with a comfortable majority of 80 as the Conservatives make sweeping gains throughout Yorkshire and largely demolish the Labour ‘‘red wall’’. The Labour seats of Wakefield, Don Valley and Rother Valley all turn blue, alongside six others across Yorkshire and the Humber. The only bright spot for Labour is unexpectedly holding on to Jared O’Mara’s old seat of Sheffield Hallam. Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson loses her seat and Jeremy Corbyn announces he will stand down as Labour leader.
Local leaders seek to take advantage of the Government’s new-found interest in northern England by pressing the PM for commitments on issues including devolution, skills and transport. West Yorkshire Combined Authority writes to Mr Johnson asking for £20m to help deliver on his promise to finally bring a mass transit system to Leeds.
The Prime Minister’s Brexit deal is approved at its Second Reading by the Commons on the final day before Parliament goes home for Christmas.