Friday 13 Dec. 2019: UK - Post-election summary

The British voted yesterday, Thursday, in the United Kingdom, in an early parliamentary election caused by the blockages on Brexit.
The final results came in this morning and the Conservatives were given a majority with a large lead: 364 seats.
Although the polls have multiplied since 2015, this election could be decisive for the implementation of Brexit.

The experts were waiting for a close call, maybe a 'hung parliament', with no majority.

But the results, on the contrary, revealed a comfortable advance for the Tories in power.

The Labour Party appears as the big loser of the election, with one of their lowest score since the Second World War...

As a result, the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has decided to not lead the party in the next election. He will only stay for now to lead a transition, he said.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, also lost her own seat in Scotland and decided to quit, while her party has also been deserted by voters.

In Scotland, the independence party SNP retain a large lead, opening the way for a new referendum on their independence, and therefore a partition of the United Kingdom.


Many issues at stake, but Brexit dominated


The day of the election, for many voters, multiple issues were at stakes, I poke to a few of them in Bristol, and national questions were key for many: the fight against climate change, against austerity, public transport's and health budget, university fees ..

But the issues of Brexit now clearly appears at the main priority of the electoral campaign, and was for sure its raison d'être.

The primary objective of Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to obtain a clear result, to allow his party to push their policy to pursue Brexit.

Successful bet.

According to the former speaker of Parliament too, John Bercow, this is evidence that Brexit has dominated the concerns of voters. A sign in particular: the Brexit Party seems to have taken no seat, their voters having turned to the Conservatives.


Next step: Brexit... and more British divisions?


If the British are still very divided on the issue of Brexit, now remain very little space for the pro-EU.

It has been postponed until January 31, 2020 to allow this election ... It is likely that, for the first time, the date is finally respected. At the risk of paving the way for the independence of Scotland and therefore the end of the United Kingdom.


By Melissa Chemam