What was first thought to be one of the most one-sided elections in British history, given that the Conservatives had such a huge lead over a Labour party in disarray under Jeremy Corbyn, has ended up being one of the most exciting in recent history. There were predictions of a 100-seat win for the Conservatives, yet, as the British public wake up on this Friday, there is no party with a majority in Westminster. Over the next few days, there will decisions made over a possible coalition with a Conservative-DUP combination looking the most likely.
What Labour achieved is nothing short of extraordinary, but they, unfortunately, fell just short of the goal of being the leading party. What happens now in Parliament will take days to work out and will not be what May would have wanted when she called this election. She wanted her own mandate to negotiate the UK out of the European Union in just 10 days time. Now, she hasn’t even got a majority.
With a 72% turnout by 18-24-year-olds, the younger generations played a crucial role in rise of Corbynism. It was well known that a high turnout from younger generations would help Corbyn close the gap on the Conservatives with many of his policies favouring younger people in comparison to the Tories.
There were a number of surprises in that election with individual seats. Canterbury, – a Tory seat for the last 99 years – now has a Labour MP representing it in Westminster. Ipswich, Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, and the constituencies in Cardiff are all now Labour. The SNP dropped a number of seats in Scotland after their rise in the last election and UKIP have dropped away massively (thankfully).
Theresa May’s gamble of a General Election has backfired massively. Not only has she lost the Conservative majority in Parliament, but she has created a hung parliament just before days before the UK begins negotiations with EU. She’s gambled with the economic future of the UK and the effects of that will be seen for years to come. This is only the start of the fight back against the devastating Tory cuts that have crippled the NHS, social care and the needs of those who need help the most. Young people have spoken, the UK has spoken, and the Conservatives will learn that they won’t have it as easy as they have in recent years.
Think Sustainability 