U. K. VOTE PUTS MAY’S MAJORITY IN JEOPARDY
Coalition may be necessary once final vote is counted
British Prime Minister Theresa May said Friday that her Conservative Party would “provide stability” if it wins the most seats in Parliament but falls short of an outright majority in the country’s election.
May looked tense as she was re- elected to her Maidenhead seat in southern England.
It appears May has lost her political gamble to strengthen her party’s majority as she heads into difficult talks with the European Union over the nation’s impending withdrawal from the 28- nation political bloc.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was time for May “to go” after the Conservative’s underperformance in the vote. In remarks delivered at his constituency’s election count, Corbyn said May called the election to get a new mandate and the “mandate she got was one of lost support.”
The BBC predicted Conservatives would win 318 seats to 267 by the Labour Party. It forecast the Scottish National Party to win 32 seats and Liberal Democrats to take 13, with the remaining places split by smaller parties. To form a government, 326 seats are needed. Final results were expected later Friday.
If the BBC projection is correct, May would need to team up with smaller parties to form a ruling coalition government. It is also possible that Corbyn could secure enough seats to form a government, but May would be given the first opportunity to do so.
In the last parliamentary election in 2015, then- prime minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party won 331 seats. Britain’s referendum on EU membership in June 2016 was narrowly approved by the public, 52% to 48%, prompting Cameron — who opposed Brexit — to resign. May, Home secretary at the time, succeeded him.
She called for Thursday’s election in April when polls suggested she would win a landslide victory that would give her more leverage to negotiate favorable exit terms with the EU.
A narrow victory Thursday would hurt her ability to achieve that, as EU leaders have vowed to make Britain pay a steep price for leaving the alliance.
During the campaign, May vowed to build a “stronger, fairer and more prosperous Britain,” while Corbyn’s signature campaign slogan was to govern “for the many, not the few.”
A win for May would leave Washington with a British leader ready to work with President Trump despite differences over how to approach climate change, NATO and other global concerns. If Corbyn wins, Trump can expect a hostile challenge to his positions.
The election was a two- horse race between the Conservatives and Labour — the Liberal Democrats party has consis- tently come a distant third in national polls.
Expectations that May would romp to victory had been weakened by the recent terrorist attacks in Manchester and London as well as a lackluster campaign by May, said Richard Whitman, a professor of politics at the University of Kent.
“The Conservatives believed that by simply making this vote about perceptions around May’s strong leadership on leaving the EU this would win it for them. What they’ve found instead is that the electorate really is interested in detail on health care, education and social care issues.” Corbyn has focused on the Conservatives’ cuts in those programs.
Paula Brown, 48, a south London therapist, said she backed Corbyn because her daughter is going to college in September and Labour pledged to abolish university fees of $ 12,000 a year for students starting courses this fall.
David McDermott, 69, a south London retiree, said he hoped for a Conservative majority because Labour “is so far against what we believe in.”