‘Hung Parliament’ in UK, as May’s election gamble backfires
Facing pressure to quit, PM seeks to scrabble together coalition after Conservatives lose majority; Corbyn’s Labour makes gains nationwide, says it’s ‘ready to serve’
British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on Friday after her Conservative party lost its outright majority in the snap elections she had called, spelling a “hung parliament.” With 647 of 650 seats counted, the Conservatives had 316 seats (down from 328) and the resurgent opposition Labour Party, under the leftist Jeremy Corbyn, had 261 seats (up 29).
Sources in her party said May had no intention of resigning, however, and that the Conservatives were negotiating with a minor party, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Union Party (DUP), which won 10 seats, to try to gain its support for a parliamentary majority. It would be unprecedented in modern times for the government to be reliant for its majority on a party focused on the interests of Northern Ireland, however, and some Conservatives might not accept such a partnership.
Corbyn, an unfancied and controversial candidate who led Labour to shock success, said May should resign. He said people had “voted for hope,” that Labour had gained seats in every part of the country, and that he hoped to be able to put Labour’s program before Parliament. “We are ready to serve this country,” he said.
May had called the snap election in the hope of increasing the Conservative majority in Parliament to strengthen her position in Brexit negotiations. She was far ahead in the polls when she called the vote seven weeks ago, but the gamble backfired sensationally as her campaign floundered and Corbyn proved especially capable of mobilizing younger voters.
The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader would be unable to form a government and could even be forced out of office after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two terror attacks.
After being reelected with an increased majority in the London commuter seat of Maidenhead, May said Britain “needs a period of stability” as it prepares for the complicated process of withdrawing from the European Union.
She said that while the full results had yet to emerge, her party seemed to have won the most seats and “it would be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability.”
But Corbyn, whose Labour party surged from 20 points behind, urged May to quit, saying she had “lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that’s enough” for her to resign.
Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry, who just held onto her seat, said May was “in a very difficult place” following a “dreadful campaign.”
With just the final three seats to be counted, the Conservatives were mathematically unable to reach the 326 mark that would give them a majority, meaning they will have to form an informal or formal alliance to forward their agenda.
According to Sky News at 9.30 Friday morning, 316 seats had been declared for the Conservatives, 261 for Labour, 35 for Scottish National Party, and 12 for the Liberal Democrats, and 23 for other parties.
May, a 60-year-old vicar’s daughter, is now facing questions over her judgment in calling the election three years early and risking her party’s slim but stable majority of 17.
“It is exactly the opposite of why she held the election and she then has to go and negotiate Brexit in that weakened position,” said Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics.
Sterling fell nearly two percent against the dollar on the back of the exit poll, as investors questioned who was now going to control the Brexit process.
Early newspaper editions reflected the drama, with headlines such as “Britain on a knife edge,” “Mayhem” and “Hanging by a thread.”
In a night that threatened to redraw the political landscape once again, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which won 12.5 percent of the vote two years ago and was a driving force behind the Brexit vote, was all but wiped out, hovering around 2%. Many more of its votes than had been expected went to Labour, rather than the Conservatives, however.
The pro-European Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned for a second EU referendum, increased their number of seats from nine, but their former leader Nick Clegg lost his seat.
Meanwhile the Scottish National Party of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, which has dominated politics north of the border for a decade and called for a new independence vote after Brexit, was tipped to lose 21 of its 54 seats.
Deputy leader Angus Robertson, one of the strongest SNP performers in the House of Commons, was an early casualty.
‘Pressure to resign’
May, who took over after last year’s Brexit referendum, began the formal two-year process of leaving the EU on March 29, promising to take Britain out of the single market and cut immigration.
Seeking to capitalize on sky-high popularity ratings, she called the election a few weeks later, urging voters to give her a stronger mandate to go into Brexit talks that are expected to begin as early as June 19.
Officials in Brussels were hopeful the election would allow her to make compromises, but this has been thrown into question by the prospect of a hung parliament.
“It creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA currency traders.
Despite campaigning against Brexit, Labour has accepted the result but promised to avoid a “hard Brexit,” focusing on maintaining economic ties with the bloc.
Barely a month ago, the center-left party seemed doomed to lose the election, plagued by internal divisions over its direction under veteran socialist Corbyn.
But May’s botched announcement of a reform in funding for elderly care, a strong grassroots campaign by Corbyn and the terror attacks, which increased scrutiny of her time as interior minister, changed the game.
“Even if she manages to get just enough seats it will be seen as a failure and she may indeed be under pressure to resign as leader quite quickly,” said Paula Surridge, senior lecturer at the University of Bristol.
Terror in the campaign
Britain has been hit with three terror attacks since March, and campaigning was twice suspended.
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a pop concert in Manchester on May 22, killing 22 people.
Last Saturday, three assailants wearing fake suicide vests mowed down pedestrians and launched a stabbing rampage around London Bridge, killing eight people before being shot dead by police.
The attacks led to scrutiny over May’s time as interior minister from 2010 to 2016, particularly since it emerged that some of the attackers had been known to police and security services.
Labour seized on steep cuts in police numbers implemented as part of a Conservative austerity programme, although May insisted she had protected funding for counter-terrorism.
