The post election autopsy is starting to show something up. Finally. Brexit is part of wider political issues and fractures. This isn't exactly rocket science but it's an inconvenient truth that has been ignored.
We have something of a conflict going on between economic conservatism and social conservatism.
The Tories as the party of business were economically conservative and put this ahead of other issues. "It's the economy stupid."
But as this has continued this has opened up social division and the gap between rich and poor has laid bare social issues.
This is where Labour and the LDs are now becoming something of a cropper. In Brexit they continued the idea that the economy was the most important this and in doing so has fuelled the idea that they don't care about social issues. They are perceived to be putting the interests of businesses as more important than those people.
Of course it's not as straightforward as this. To fund ways to stop social issues you need good economics.
Add to this the progressive movement which has become authoritarian and has lost sight of certain social issues in favour of identity politics and you start to have a real issue. One that the EU as an identity has become caught up in in this country. The wedge to drive in the cracks.
Issues haven't been tackled because identity is more important and was prioritised. And we've had scandals arising out of this.
Instead we've had the increasing demonisation of social conservativism and the idea that if you question certain things you are backward or bigoted as a means to silence people. And now we've had a massive backlash against that generalisation and lack of nuance. And not seeing what was happening and having a self awareness of how this read to more socially conservative types.
That's not to say there aren't massive issues in social conservatism which can be indeed racist, homophobic, sexist and yes very bigoted in nature. The trouble is that the failure to be able to tackle nuance which identity politics forced and a failure to understand that the pace of change needs to be set by public consensus rather than top down authoritarianism has lead us to where we are now.
Rights set up to protect certain groups have failed in practice even if they exist in law. And those who professed to stand for the interests of certain groups forgot the origins of rights.
Thus undermining the entire centre left project, which in some respects the EU embodies.
We now find ourselves in a divided and ruled scenario where those who should have benefitted most from rights can be exploited by an elite who have successfully seen an opportunity to step into the void that identity politics created.
And now the left and liberals have to wake up to this reality and come up with a solution to it.
There is a lot of uncomfortable and difficult decisions to be made here.
The solution to the culture war isn't to push back harder and to become more authoritarian in tone about the right of 'right and wrong'.
It's to address why identity politics caused the left and liberals to forget their origins and purpose and why they established certain ideals in the first place.
Meanwhile whilst they figure out just how they lost their way and were blinkered by their own self righteousness, everything that the centre left project established will be gradually unpicked. Or if Johnson can do it, without being challenged, at some considerable pace.
It comes down to remembering your roots and having a solid connection with the reality of people's lives rather than high minded idealism and a sense of superiority. This is what people saw regardless of the noble intent of Labour and the Lib Dems.
'Social conservatism' were dirty words. Now they are the reality of the present. Whether we like it or not.
Economic stability has become secondary to this desire for social conservatism.
Labour and the Lib Dems have to adapt to this and will have to offer something to those with more socially conservative views to move forward now. The alternative is a very long wait outside in the cold of politics.
Liberal democracy is about balancing needs. You have to identify needs and you have to understand how to balance them for liberal democracy to thrive. Failure to do the former means the latter fails.
And here we are.
2020 beckons.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New to all.