For the past few years, polls in the UK have been eerily accurate about the election day result. In 2017, the prediction of a hung parliament was bound to cause disarray in the legislature, but the outcome of the 2019 elections may transform the shape of British politics entirely.
According to polls, it looks as though the conservative party under the leadership of Boris Johnson will emerge as victors in this election. The strategies used by the conservative party during this election run have proven to be successful; with a predicted 368 seats in the new parliament, a majority of 86 over all other parties, and clear-cut intent to take the UK out of the European Union by January.
Should the polls prove to be correct, this victory will be historic for the conversation party which has suffered defeat at the hands of the Labour for the past few years. Historically, the Tories have been known to be the most resilient and successful political party in Europe and a win in this election will reinstate this image onto them. Since 1987, the party has not won a single proper working majority. A majority of 86 would mean Johnson can govern for a full five-year term, even though his promise to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act means he is likely not to take the country into another December election in 2024.
Perhaps the biggest overall victory here, however, would be Boris Johnson’s due to his rise into the British political scene. A year ago, Johnson was on the backbenches of the Parliament and the majority of the Tory MP’s did not want him as the leader of their party. Today, he is at the forefront of British politics with the autonomy to select his own cabinet and demand his MP’s support for his Brexit strategy.
Another interesting outcome of this election has been the mandate of the Scottish National Party (with a projected 55 seats in Scotland) to call for a second referendum on Scottish independence. Although Johnson has made it clear that he will not concede to Scottish demands, the tussle between Scotland and the British government will take now be taking centre stage in the political limelight.
The most fascinating thing to witness throughout this historic election has been the collapse of the Labour party. In the past four general elections, Labour has been defeated each time. Its projected 191 seats is its lowest in modern times. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats, the third largest party in the UK, have not benefitted from Labour’s collapse either. In fact, it seems the only ones to have thrived in the midst of the fall of Corbyn’s party have been the Tories. With all this in mind, it will interesting to see what shape British politics takes on following this extraordinary event.
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