Wow. What an unbelievable election. Just like the 2015 Election, 2016 EU referendum and 2016 US election, the establishment got it wrong. A Conservative landslide appeared unstoppable. Labour was destined for a crushing defeat. Well, the public said no. Aiming for a larger majority, Theresa May fell so far short. This has left her negotiating a 'coalition of chaos' with the socially conservative DUP. Labour gained 30 seats, including Kensington, headquarters of the 'Daily Mail' and home of the Duke of Cambridge. The result, if nothing else, was truly spectacular.
So, what happens now? I predict the Conservatives will arrange an alliance with the DUP. This would give the Government 328 seats, above the 314 seats of left-wing parties combined. This would be manageable in the short term, but unsustainable in the long term. The DUP support the abolition of the 'bedroom tax', maintenance of universal winter fuel payments and a guaranteed deal from EU negotiations, all at odds with the Tories. Futhermore, if the Government are negotiating a deal between the DUP & Sinn Fein in the Northern Ireland Assembly, how can they be neutral if one side is part of the Government? An alliance with the DUP really worries me. I deeply oppose their anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, climate change denial attitude, as do over 650,000 people, who have signed a petition opposing an alliance. Labour have done well. Against all the odds, they gained 30 seats in England, Scotland and Wales. It was a shock to me, as well as many Corbyn opponents. One of the highlights of the election was reading tweets of Corbyn opponents who 'realized they were wrong.' While this is excellent, it is not good enough. They still lost. Labour are 56 seats behind the Conservatives and an agreement with every left wing party would still leave Labour 12 seats short of a majority. Unless Labour win another snap election, I don't think Jeremy Corbyn will be walking into Downing Street. It amazed me how little Brexit - the biggest issue this country faces - was discussed. By the end of the campaign, I was no clearer as to what agreement would be negotiated. All we heard was pointless 'strong and stable' soundbites that unraveled to be completely untrue. I've read myths that Brexit will now be weakened, or even stopped, which I highly doubt. Nearly 85% of the electorate voted for pro-Brexit parties, with no surge for the Lib Dems. Maybe people don't want Theresa May as chief negotiator, but certainly want Brexit. What that form of Brexit is....who knows? I was overjoyed by the increase in youth turnout. Estimates show 72% of people aged 18-24 turned out, up from 44% in 2015. Thanks to Jeremy Corbyn's appeal to the young, by promising to scrap tuition fees, and the rise in social media campaigning, the youth had their say. I have long believed the voting age shouldn't be reduced to 16, but instead put more effort in getting those who can vote, to vote. Clearly this has worked in Labour's favour, with the student population in Canterbury allowing a historic Labour gain in Kent. For future targets, the youth vote must be sustained for Labour to be successful. For now, voting is over. It was pleasing to see turnout up 2% and the return to 2 party politics, with 82% of people voting Conservative or Labour. The division between parties allows proper debate about the direction Britain takes in the future. This gave voters a clear choice on the ballot paper, leading to a large number of marginal votes. It would be stupid to predict what happens next. Let's just hope it was worth staying up all night for.
2 Comments
Lauren
12/6/2017 17:12:32
I really enjoyed reading this I found it via the #edexcelgeoraphy on twitter and I'm glad I did. You sound so smart and I'll be back for more
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Noah
12/6/2017 21:25:49
Thank you very much for reading. It's a crazy time in politics and I'm glad more people are becoming interested. Hope your Geography exam went well. :)
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