5 in the Morning — 13 December 2019

The results of the exit poll broadcast on the side of BBC New Broadcasting House in London. Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party ended up winning 364 seats, four short of the initial prediction. Photo: Jeff Overs/BBC/AFP via Getty Images

5 in the Morning is a daily digest of interesting, relevant, and underreported news stories curated by Skylar Baker-Jordan.

This is a special edition of 5 in the Morning covering the aftermath of the UK general election.

The Conservatives just won a landslide in the UK election. Should Democrats be worried? — Slate

For many of my readers, this will be the question they’re asking themselves this morning. I agree with many of the points in this post — this election was largely about Brexit, and Corbyn’s Labour never articulated a coherent view on the defining issue of the decade — but I think there are some lessons the Democrats can glean. Corbyn’s sprint to the far left did not go down well with many voters, particularly on issues like immigration and defence. Labour had a clear plan for how to pay for some of their innovative and radical policies (such as free broadband), but Corbyn never did shake off the notion that he had no plan — something that could be a cautionary tale to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren when it comes to Medicare-for-All. There is something to be said for meeting voters where they are rather than trying to drag them to where you’d like them to be, but I think Slate hits on the most important takeaway from the UK election: articulate a clear…