Bojo's Big Win
Photograph of British Prime-Minister Boris Johnson. Photo courtesy of Agence France-Presse.
On 12 Dec., Prime-Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative and Unionist Party won a crushing victory in Britain's pre-Christmas General Election.
The Conservative Tories won 365 seats, 39 seats above the required majority. The left-wing Labour Party won 202, down 60 seats, the Scottish National Party won 48 seats, up 14, and the centre centre-left Liberal Democrats, whom this organisation endorsed (see article: I'm With Jo) won 11 seats, down one, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Mr Johnson took over the leadership of the Conservative Party last July after former Prime-Minister Theresa May resigned for the position. Mr Johnson's appointment signalled a right-wing shift in the party's platform, as he affirmed the administration's stance on a 'Hard Brexit' and Conservative stance on healthcare.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, advocated for a new brand of economic socialism and a dramatic shift in foreign policy. Mr Corbyn has announced his resignation as party leader, as reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation, and a new leader will be picked in January.
Mr Corbyn was dogged by accusations of refusing to tackle anti-Semitic behaviour in the party. Mr Corbyn was condemned by England's Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, for his ignorance of problems within the Labour Party.
After the election, Mr Corbyn was heavily criticised by former Labour Prime-Minister Tony Blair, for his mismanagement of the party. Mr Blair said that Labour had a 'misguided ideology' and called for his party to return to a more centrist policy, according to The Guardian.
In 1983, a left-wing Labour received a similar defeat to Prime-Minister Margaret Thatcher. In response, the Labour leadership began to move towards the centre with leader Mr Blair. Mr Blair's leadership led to a resurgence in his party's membership.
Many Labour voters hope that Labour will, again, move towards the centre. However, Corbynist leaders are much more entrenched in the party than the socialist leaders were in the 1980s, so the transition may be much slower.
The Liberal Democratic Party was expected to see a substantial increase in seats, by courting centrist and remainder demographics. However, their promise to unilaterally halt the Brexit process if they achieved a majority (and only hold a second referendum if they were in government with less than a majority) did not achieve the results they wished.
The Scottish National Party also saw a rise in their seat count, after SNP leader and Scottish First-Minister Nicola Sturgeon promised a second Scottish Independence Referendum. However, Mr Corbyn has pledged to block any such plebiscite, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.
One of the largest surprises of the election was when Liberal Democratic Party leader, Jo Swinson, lost her seat to the Scottish National Party. Party rules prohibit a non-MP from serving as leader, so she was forced to resign. She has been replaced by Sir Ed Davey and Sal Brinton, until leadership elections can take place.
According to The Economist, a large component of Mr Johnson's election strategy was to switch traditionally Labour, but pro-Brexit, seats in North England. Mr Johnson's promise to 'get Brexit done', combined with Mr Corbyn's outright refusal to take a position on the issue, led for a Conservative victory in the North.
Conservative candidates also claimed victory in Labour seats in Northern Wales, which are traditionally Labour. While these were not enough to swing the urban seats in Southern Wales, it threatens historical Labour dominance in Wales.
While the Conservative gains in Northern England and Wales may not be sustainable in the long-term, they did provide a Conservative in this election.
The Alliance Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party, both based in Northern Ireland, also saw a return to Parliament, after a long absence. The Conservative Democratic Unionist Party (who previously caucused with the Conservative) and the abstentionist Sinn Féin Party had long been the only regional parties of note in Northern Ireland.
The right-wing Brexit Party, led by Nigel Farage, won no seats in the election. His party seems to have had little impact on the election result, even failing to split the Conservative and pro-leave vote significantly.
The new Parliament took office in later in December and confirmed Mr Johnson as Prime-Minister.
The House of Commons approved Mr Johnson's Brexit Plan (see Article: I'm With Jo). The next step in the Brexit process will be for the European Parliament to approve the deal. Mr Johnson has pledged to leave the European Union by 31 Jan.; however, it is still unclear whether that deadline can be met.
With his new sweeping mandate, Mr Johnson intends to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union. Only time can tell what the result of that move will be.
Sources:
'Election results 2019: Boris Johnson returns to power with big majority'. BBC News, British Broadcasting Corpation, 13 Dec. 2019,
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50765773'
Jeremy Corbyn: 'I will not lead Labour at next election''. BBC News, British Broadcasting Corpation, 13 Dec. 2019,
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50766114
Syal, Rajeev. 'Ditch Corbyn's 'misguided ideology', Tony Blair urges Labour'. The Guardian, The Guardian Group, 18 Dec. 2019
'Election results 2019: Nicola Sturgeon says PM has 'no right' to block Indyref2'. BBC News, British Broadcasting Corpation, 13 Dec. 2019,
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50779724
'Boris Johnson’s big win'. The Economist, The Economist Group, 13 Dec. 2019,
https://www.economist.com/britain/2019/12/13/boris-johnsons-big-win