The Conservative election win impact on NHS, climate change, Scotland and more

Anxious about climate change? And what about the state of the Union? Here's how the Conservative Party's stunning election victory will affect them...

Will the Union hold?

Scotland has just voted SNP but Johnson will say no to a second independence referendum north of the border. Expect a scrappy, noisy row but no vote soon.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland could be scary. At best, a Brexit free-trade deal could lead to a customs border in the Irish Sea. At worst, a no-deal crisis may see a hard border between North and South and the breakdown of the peace agreement. Watch out for a lot of talk about a united Ireland — but the route won’t be smooth.
Julian Glover, Associate Editor

What about the NHS cash injection?

Lavish promises have been made about the NHS — Boris Johnson says he’s going to give us six new hospitals across London and upgrade a further two.

It is widely accepted that Whipps Cross Hospital will be at the front of the queue, with its parent trust Barts Health expecting to receive about £400 million for a new build on its ramshackle and part-derelict site in Leytonstone. The need for “new” hospitals is undeniable, but it seems fanciful to believe that six truly new hospitals will open in the capital during the next parliament.
Ross Lydall, Health Editor

Cleanest, greenest country?

As climate heroine Greta Thunberg is voted Time magazine’s person of the year , the Government promises to act on climate change, cut animal cruelty and clean up our air. The bad news is that outside the EU, environmental regulation could be cut, or powers to enforce it reduced. The detail of a new environment Bill will be crucial.

There could be a law on air quality, too. Will our next environment minister back bold manifesto promises to make our country greener and back new national parks? All this will take money and there are no promises about that.
Julian Glover, Associate Editor

Will the streets be safer?

A tougher approach to criminal justice appears inevitable under the new Tory government, with the party’s manifesto promising longer sentences, 20,000 more police by 2022 and 10,000 new prison places. On sentencing, as well as pledging longer jail terms for terrorists, Johnson has promised to end the automatic release of “serious offenders” and to ensure that prisoners sentenced to four or more years will not be released until they have served at least two thirds of their jail term. The reform is predicted to add 3,000 to the prison population.

The party’s manifesto also pledges to ensure that those caught with knives appear before magistrates “within days, not weeks” to speed up the administration of justice, although lawyers have questioned how workable this can be.
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor

Will the shows go on?

Johnson likes the theatre — so much so that he has been known to quote the script while in the audience. His hero is Pericles and he is a fan of Shakespeare, though his “simple but read-able” book on the bard, due in 2016, is now on long-term hold. In the meantime, there’s £120 million earmarked for a Festival of Brexit in 2022.

Prepare for us to see a political response to this government in the arts. Who might lead it? James Graham — the writer of The Vote and prescient TV drama Brexit — will doubtless find an oblique way to respond to this government. For immediate escape, head for the Hayward and lose yourself in Bridget Riley’s optical masterpieces.
Nick Curtis, Chief Theatre Critic; Ben Luke, Art Critic