Friday, May 08, 2015

Well, well, well

As the voting finished, the polls were still predicting a close run call between Labour and Conservatives in the UK General Election. The exit polls told a different story with the Conservatives in the lead but still without enough seats to form a majority.

As the night rolled on though, things were becoming a lot clearer. Nicola Sturgeon’s charismatic personality worked in Scotland where the SNP have scooped up all but one seat. The Liberal Democrats have all but been wiped out and Nigel Farage looks as though he might lose in Thanet leaving his party with just one seat.

UKIP will be smarting, having 12% of the vote (more than the SNP and Liberal Democrats) but only gaining one seat so far.

With the possibility of such a slender majority, David Cameron will have his work cut out to hold on to his policies given that he has 20 rogue MPs on his benches and the SNP/Labour barking at his heels.

We could see a call for a second referendum on Scotland’s independence and with Nicola Sturgeon at the helm that could provide a different result to last time. Cameron has promised a referendum on EU membership which he will find very difficult to manage. The next five years could be both turbulent and decisive for British politics. In the end, the electorate will get what they voted for.

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