Ben Gannon, expert in US politics and foreign policy, discusses the mid-term elections, which have resulted in the Democrats taking control of the US House of Representatives and also dealt a blow to President Donald Trump.

“The mid-term election results, which are in line with historical trends, represent a new phase for Donald Trump's presidency as he will now have to contend with a Democrat-led House likely to challenge him on everything from funding for his policy programmes (goodbye border wall), to organising hostile committee hearings, to subpoenaing potentially embarrassing information such as his tax returns. It's not all bad news for Trump though, by keeping hold of the Senate he should be safe from any threats of impeachment and can stop Democrats from trying to pass any controversial legislation.

“In a wider sense, the relatively mixed picture in terms of governor races, and the lack of a clear 'blue wave' from Democrats means both parties will now begin to have real debate over whether a Trump-style approach that focuses on the threat of immigration is likely to be successful in 2020. The Democrats will equally need to take a long hard look at whether their current tactics are going to deliver them victory. A very interesting two years awaits.”

Peter Thorley, Media Relations Manager - University of Warwick

E: Peter.Thorley@warwick.ac.uk

M: 07824540863