A lot of commentary posing the question of whether the Conservatives can hold on to the Red/Blue Wall is really missing the point about the future shape of British politics.

The long-held Labour seats that the Conservatives won in 2019 represented an ongoing structural shift in the electoral politics of English and Wales.

As @jamiewfurlong and @JamesKanag separately pointed out ahead of GE2019, these were seats where Labour was over-performing the level of support that would have been predicted by demographics alone (likely due to the longstanding ties of communities in those places to the party).

While Brexit may fade in electoral salience by the next general election, that bond has been broken and it would be surprising to see it restored altogether.

Of course, the blue tide in those sorts of seats might yet recede to some degree - but if it does it will more likely reflect the national trend rather than a return to electoral geography forged in another era.

A lot of ink will be spilled on the topic of "levelling up", but it's probably not going to be as consequential to the outcome of the next election as many seem to expect.