Britain | Bagehot

Britain’s Labour Party is backed by a pro-growth coalition

Its young electoral base offers opportunities to fix a sclerotic economy

An illustration of a ballot box with arrows with arrows surrounding it.
Illustration: Nate Kitch

British politics is on the cusp of a generational shift. To feel it, head to Milton Keynes, a city just north of London. Chris Curtis, the Labour candidate for Milton Keynes North, is relatively young at 29. So are the locals, with an average age of 37. The city as a whole is a sprightly 57. Founded by Harold Wilson’s Labour government, it was dubbed a “Los Angeles in Buckinghamshire” for its grid-patterned roads and optimistic spirit. Sitting by the watersports lake where his parents met, Mr Curtis is evangelistic about the opportunities that post-war “new towns” granted working-class families like his. Britain, he says, should build more of them.

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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The growth voter”

From the January 27th 2024 edition

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