UK Shocker: Tories Win Outright Majority, Labour Humiliated

Econintersect:  Just one week ago opinion polls indicated that Labour was leading with an outside chance at an absolute majority.  At the very least it seemed that a Labour coalition government was quite likely.  But now the chickens have hatched and the final count is much different, with Conservatives gaining 24 seats to put them 8 above the number needed to form a government without a coalition.  Good thing for them, too – their anticipated coalition members are virtually absent from the new parliament.  This will return the incumbent David Cameron to 10 Downing Street as UK Prime Minister.

David Cameron during the campaign.

Fully as shocking as the big Tory win, the SNP (Scottish National Party) exploded from 6 to 56 seats, virtually expelling Labour from Scotland (see map later in article) and the Liberal Democrat party fell to the status of a minor splinter party, losing 47 seats to now hold only 8.

Table from The Telegaph.

Other novel events of this election include the status of the UKIP (UK Independence Party) which won it’s first seat in parliament.  The UKIP is for the separation of the UK from the EU (European Union) – code name “Brexit”.

Map from CNN.

John Lounsbury

Sources:

• Election 2015 results MAPPED: 2015 full list (The Telegraph, 08 May 2015)

• UK election shock: David Cameron defies polls with clear victory (CNN, 08 May 2015)