James Comey’s bombshell testimony has captivated U.S. attentions, but across the pond, there’s some anarchy brewing with the U.K. election. Not only has a “Lord Buckethead” siphoned a few hundred votes from the Conservative Party’s Theresa May and the Labor Party’s Jeremy Corbyn, but the event has ended with a hung Parliament result. According to the Brits’ Parliamentary system, one party must capture 326 House of Commons seats in order to elevate a prime minister. Yet CNN reports that neither party will hold the majority, and now, uncertainty shall prevail not only for current PM May — who could lose her status — but the whole of Great Britain.
Sky News called the election with May’s Conservatives capturing anywhere from 315 to 321 seats (and Labour taking 260 seats). It’s a stunning blow and arrives at a time when tensions are already high in England following last weekend’s London terror attacks. And it seems that May will come to regret calling for an early “snap” election in order to shore up a stronger Brexit government. May was hoping that her party would gain some seats to bolster her party’s slim majority, but that didn’t happen.
Although May had no difficulty recapturing her Maidenhead constituency, the larger prize evades her. As such, calls have begun for her to step down, yet May’s (so far) refusing to do so while citing a need for stability in England:
“This country needs a period of stability,” May told supporters after she was re-elected to her own seat in the House of Commons. “If the Conservative Party has won the most seats, it will be incumbent on us to deliver this period of stability.”
Moments earlier, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had called on May to step down, saying that her attempt to seek a big mandate for her government to negotiate the U.K.’s departure from the European Union had ended in “lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.
So, what now? A ruckus in Parliament, that’s what. Someone might even drop the D-word on Friday, but seriously, Brexit was forecast to be the messiest divorce the world has ever seen, and that prediction’s turning out to be true.
The BBC has a full rundown of where England goes from here. In short, May can remain prime minister while party leaders do one of three things: (a) Hash out a coalition government; (2) Make a deal to keep May as PM on an ongoing basis or elevate Corbyn; or (3) Either May or Corbyn can strike out and attempt a minority government, which — if successful — makes it awfully difficult to pass laws. Stay tuned for more chaos!
(Via CNN, Fox News, The Independent & BBC)