Brexit, terrorism key to poll result

UK ELECTION: MAY, CORBYN FIRE THEIR FINAL SALVOS

Prime minister has no regrets about her decision.

London

Britain went to the polls yesterday for a snap election called by Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of Brexit after a campaign shadowed by terrorism.

May called the vote in April, when opinion poll ratings for the Conservatives were sky-high, presenting herself as the strong leader to take Britain into Brexit talks.

But Islamist attacks in London and Manchester have put her under pressure over her six years as home secretary, while campaign missteps have dented her reputation as a safe pair of hands.

Meanwhile, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, an antiwar campaigner deemed unelectable by a majority of his own lawmakers, has run an energetic campaign, promising change and an end to austerity.

While May has been touring target seats around the country, delivering slogan-heavy speeches to small groups of hand-picked activists, Corbyn has drawn large crowds to open-air rallies.

Speaking to reporters on her plane during a final burst of campaigning yesterday, May insisted she had no regrets about calling the vote three years early.

“I’ve enjoyed the campaign,” she said. “There is a very clear choice for people.”

Asked what would constitute success, the 60-year-old vicar’s daughter said: “I never predict election results.”

Corbyn, a 68-year-old left-winger who has never held ministerial office and defied the odds to win the Labour leadership two years ago, urged supporters in Glasgow to think big.

“Wouldn’t it be great if on Friday we woke up to a Labour government that will be a government for all of our communities across the whole of the country,” he said.

The election is May’s first since taking office after Britons voted by 52% to leave the European Union.

May has accused Corbyn of being unprepared for negotiations set to begin on June 19 and unwilling to curb mass migration – a key driver of the Brexit vote.

The Conservatives have always been strong on defence and security and they have sought to exploit Corbyn’s antinuclear stance and his alleged past support for the Irish Republican Army. –

Picture: Getty Images RALLYING CALL. Prime Minister Theresa May ends her speech at her last campaign visit to the National Conference Centre in Solihull in the lead-up to the general election.