The 17 Deprived Bricks that Broke Labour's "Red Wall" 

• Labour party suffers heaviest loss in over 70 years as it losses 54 "red wall" seats
  
• Most former Labour dominated seats are deprived areas which voted to leave the EU   
  

London: At 11:30PM on 12th December loud cheers marked a historic moment at the counting station in Blyth Valley, a Labour constituency since 1950. It became the first of many to declare its shift from Labour to Conservative. In his victory address, Adam Levy, the Tory candidate, with a lump in his throat thanked "Boris" and vowed to "get Brexit done."

In what can now be deemed a pre-apocalyptic self-critique, moments before the final results started coming in, former Labour MP from Vauxhall Kate Hoey told the BBC that "Labour has lost its touch with its working class supporters, majority of whom voted to leave [the European Union]."

Her prophecy turned into a night of terror for Labour. Blyth Valley was one of the 54 Labour constituencies that changed allegiances. Half of these had not voted for a Tory candidate in decades. 

The common denominator for most of these new blue constituencies is that they all have sizeable low-income-working-class communities who voted to leave the EU in 2016. 

"The message on the ground was clear, vote Tory if you want to get Brexit done," says Joe Walker, a Labour turned Tory voter from Birmingham. 

The biggest cracks on the so called Labour "red wall" came in from the disadvantaged quarters of the UK. The poorest constituencies deprived Labour of their vote leading to the biggest loss suffered by the party since 1935.

Deprived Turned Kingmakers

A look at the results from the general elections in 2017 and 2019 along with the Brexit referendum shows a pattern. 

In 2017, 89 out of the 100 most deprived constituencies in England voted for Labour. In 2019 the number shrunk to 72.

Interestingly, these 17 constituencies had on an average voted 63% to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum. As most in the Labour party had campaigned to remain in the EU, this meant that with just one exception, all Labour MPs from these constituencies stood against the majority of their own voters on the Brexit issue.

Even the lone Leave Labour parliamentarian on the list, Ronnie Campbell, who held the Blyth Valley seat since 1987 retired just before the 2019 election and made way for a pro-remain candidate.

According to Mr Walker, "most of them [Labour candidates] wanted a Brexit delay, which was of no good to anyone."

Walker's constituency, Birmingham Northfield, is one of the 17 deprived areas which switched loyalties in this election. The changed priorities were the story of many seats in the 2019 general election. At the heart of it was the appeal of Brexit and what it promised - jobs, increased wages and possibly a better future.

Here Brexit Means More Jobs and Wages

According to the Brexit Party which backed the Conservatives by standing down in the country's blue seats, it is "the impact of EU policies" that has costed the UK jobs. Unsurprisingly, the lack of jobs has been a key issue in all 17 deprived constituencies which voted to leave and also switched to Conservatives. According to the office of National statistics, the people claiming unemployment benefits in the 17 constituencies was at an average two percentage points higher than the national average of 2.9%.

Wages were another shared woe among these constituencies. People here on an average earned £82 less than the average national weekly income according to the House of Commons data. This was another important subject addressed in both the Brexit Party and Conservative party's manifestos. While Brexit Party blamed the current immigration method for a "wage stagnation", the Conservatives promised a post-Brexit "wave of investments" to raise the weekly wages of people. In constituencies like Blackpool South, Great Grimsby and Stoke-On-Trent which earn over £100 pounds less than the rest of the country, getting Brexit done meant a lucrative future.

What Next? For Now, Blame it On Jeremy

While the Conservatives took a stand on Brexit, many have come out blaming the Labour party for the lack of it. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change blames an "unclear leadership" by Jeremy Corbyn on what it refers to as "the central issue of our time." The institute which conducted three surveys and six focus groups in the last week of the campaign put Jeremy Corbyn and his "left wing" attitude at the heart of Labour's loss of its core working class voter base.

Another former Labour MP, Jon Cruddas foresaw this in his academic paper published in January 2019. He explained how the new Corbyn led "urban character" had increased the divide within the Labour party making it difficult to connect with its working class Leave voters.He saw it as a division that would take long to heal.

However, a long and tough journey lies ahead for Johnson and his party too. A smooth Brexit and the ability to deliver Johnson's many promises will decide whether the allegiance of the now blueish-red voters has changed permanently or not.