Label Volunteer, Maciek Anielski, briefly runs through the Election Results, seat losses and the inevitable policies of the victorious party.
With a hung parliament well within the margin of error in most National Polls, the UK had anticipated a tense night for Labour and the Tories. But by 10:00pm, the exit poll smashed all expectations.
The 86-seat majority it predicted would mean a magnitude of victory for the Tories not seen since the 80’s, an unquestionable mandate for Brexit and support for the populist politics Boris Johnson brought with it.
The first Labour stronghold to fall was Blythe Valley. A seat which had never in its lifetime swung Tory. Dennis Skinner, the Labour MP of Bolsover lost his seat to the Conservatives after 49 years of service.
The trend continued…
As Labour’s red wall fell, the SNP’s strengthened.
Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leader quoted at the start of the election as saying she was running for PM, was one of their casualties, losing her Dunbartonshire East constituency to the SNP.
As constituency after constituency revealed their results, it became increasingly clear; Conservative victory was inevitable.
The final results look as follows:
| Conservative Party | Labour Party | Scottish National Party | Liberal Democrats | Green Party | Other |
| 365 | 203 | 48 | 11 | 1 | 22 |
To sum up, the Conservatives have 365 seats, with all other parties combined having a total of 285, leaving a majority for the Tories of 80.
Many will blame Labour’s Brexit strategy for the loss. Their concern for losing remain voters, costing them their northern strongholds.
Attention will also be drawn to Jeremy Corbyn. His lack of popularity among voters potentially may have been a key reason for the Labour Party’s poor performance.
Regardless, for Labour, a civil war draws near. Moderates in the party will want to see Labour return to its Blairite past, a past which brought them a decade of success between 1997-2007, while it’s left-leaning membership will fight tooth and nail against it.
What’s clear, however is that the era of Jeremy Corbyn is over. Although he will remain as leader of the party during its ‘period of reflection’ he will not be running in another general election.
On the Conservative side, things are looking significantly more optimistic. Boris Johnson has a clear mandate to push through his Brexit deal. His plan to leave the EU by the end of January will almost certainly be backed his 80-seat strong majority and trade talks will begin shortly after.
The United Kingdom is leaving the EU.
After over three years of ‘dither and delay’ the referendum result will be honoured. It’s resulting impact on the economy, immigration and political zeitgeist of the UK will span for years to come.
Image by Sarah Hannaford.
