The ‘red wall’ and what it means for Australia’s election campaign

‘Speculation about Scott Morrison and red wall strategies has surfaced in the context of a trans rights debate that has erupted during the campaign.’ Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Voters in Britain are familiar with the concept of the “red wall” – a group of regional constituencies in the UK that traditionally voted Labour, but flipped to supporting Boris Johnson.

For Australians unfamiliar with the lore, it’s a simple story. Johnson won the 2019 election by forging a new coalition of traditional Tories and pro-Brexit working-class voters antipathetic to the then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Much was written at the time about this electoral realignment; swathes of people had moved away from voting according to their economic interests, and were now more motivated by identity and cultural affinity – a shift that also underwrote Trumpism.