Cameron is back; opposition heads roll

Britain in new era after Tories’shock victory; Scotttish nationalists make seismic gains

LONDON, May 9, (AFP) - Britain was adjusting to a new political landscape today after a shock election victory for Prime Minister David Cameron that decapitated the opposition and bolstered secessionists in Scotland.

While Cameron spent the weekend drawing up his new team of ministers, the Scottish National Party (SNP) was celebrating its seismic gains, insisting it would not be sidelined in the new parliament.

Despite pollsters predicting he would lose ground in Thursday's vote, Cameron's Conservatives won 331 of the 650 seats in parliament, giving him a second term in office -- this time with a majority for his centre-right party.

While there were dramatic gains for the Conservatives and the Scottish National Party (SNP), the opposition was left in disarray after the Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders quit over their party's drubbings. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader also resigned, after a huge swell in support for the populist party secured only one parliamentary seat.

In their first editions since the full election result, British newspapers said today that Cameron had pulled off a triumphant victory thanks to a surge in support from so-called shy Conservatives.

“A fresh era of British politics dawns,” read a headline in the centre-right Daily Telegraph.

The victory gives the Conservatives a freer hand than in Cameron's previous government — a coalition with the Liberal Democrats — but the slender majority leaves them prey to rebellion from within their own ranks.

The Times said Cameron would need “every ounce of statesmanship” to surmount the challenges facing him.

“His majority is slim and using it will not be easy. His real work starts now.”

Cameron had already agreed to hold an in-out referendum on Britain's European Union membership by 2017 due to pressure from the Conservative right wing and a rising UKIP and he was quick to confirm his pledge on Friday.

There is growing concern in the business community about the referendum, even though Cameron has said he will campaign to stay in as long as he can negotiate reforms to cut down on EU migrants moving to Britain.

Cameron will also face a tough battle to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom and in a post-election speech pledged to grant sweeping new local powers.

Cameron has kept his top four main ministers in place and boosted the nominal power of his finance minister George Osborne, but was spending the weekend drawing up names for the remaining ministries.

He is expected to take until Monday to complete his cabinet fully, then finalise more junior ministerial posts over the coming week.

During the election campaign, Cameron named Osborne, interior minister Theresa May and London Mayor Boris Johnson as his chief possible successors, after pledging this would be his final term in office.

Johnson said Saturday: “There is a great amount of work to do over the next five years -- to improve quality of life, build more homes, increase job opportunities for all, and secure our economic growth. Let's get to it.”

Scottish secessionists triumphant

Centre-left Labour lost 26 seats and now has 232 MPs, while the centrist Liberal Democrats were eviscerated after five years in coalition with the Conservatives, ending up with just eight seats after losing 49.

In Scotland, the left-wing SNP won a historic landslide — 56 of the 59 Scottish seats — just seven months after losing a referendum on seceding from the UK.

“The people of Scotland on Thursday voted for an SNP manifesto, which had ending austerity as its number one priority,” party leader Nicola Sturgeon said as her MPs rallied Saturday at the iconic Forth Rail Bridge outside Edinburgh.

“No longer will Scotland be sidelined or ignored,” she said. The Labour Party is set for a period of soul-searching as it starts choosing a replacement for Ed Miliband, who stood down as leader.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage stepped down after failing to win his constituency. His anti-EU, anti-mass-immigration party came third in the share of the vote with 12.6 percent but won only one seat.

“The need for electoral reform has never been greater,” he said Saturday. “First-past-the-post is now a bankrupt voting system.”