Sunak, in potholed northeast England, illustrates theory and practice of political change

Rishi Sunak has been on a walkabout in Darlington this morning looking at potholes. The pictures…. pic.twitter.com/yzpvLoACH3

- Chris Parsons (@ChrisParsons274) March 31, 2023

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visit to Darlington in northeast England (on March 31) is a practical illustration of the theory of politics.

The theory is as follows: there is a significant realignment of the left and the right in Western democracies such as the UK and US and both the demand and supply side of politics is changing to revolve around tangled issues of identity rather than straightforward economics.

So to Mr Sunak and his Conservative Party as they begin campaigning for the May 4 local elections. The Conservatives badly wants to remain the choice of Darlington, a market town that was solidly Labour from 1992, voted leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum and elected a Conservative MP in December 2019. While it was about it, Darlington also managed in 2019, to put Labour out of business in the council…