On June 3, PJ Media reported that although Theresa May’s Conservatives still had an edge in the general election polls, the socialist Labour Party was catching up. Well, according to Sky News, Britain will indeed have a “hung parliament,” meaning that the Tories have lost their majority and can only remain in power by forming a coalition government.
It has truly been a disastrous night for Prime Minister Theresa May, who called for this early election in April when her Tories were enjoying a historic lead in the polls. May and her allies were convinced they would get the 326 seats required for an absolute majority with ease.
That was good news, too, because May needed an absolute majority in order to follow through on her promise to continue with Brexit.
That is now suddenly in serious doubt. May needed a persuasive victory so she could tell Brussels that Brexit continues to be supported by British voters. In other words, the EU would have to accept it and would have to agree to a mutually beneficial separation deal. That has all changed now; Brexit must still continue, but May will be weaker than ever.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith rightfully calls the elections results terribly disappointing:
It is a desperately disappointing night for the Conservatives. It is not where we wanted to be. We need to stabilise everything and we need to figure out we can form a government. If we can form a government, we should do it. The most important thing is Brexit, and we have to get on with that.
But then he made a mistake: when asked whether Theresa May should go, he said he wants her to stay. But why? May has jeopardized the entire Brexit project. She gambled she’d win an absolute majority — and then some — but instead has left Britain with a hung parliament. As Nigel Farage puts it:
Article 50 had been triggered and we were on our way. May has put all this in jeopardy. Even David Davis is now making Brexit concessions.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) 9 juni 2017
Theresa May has no chance of staying on as Prime Minister, @Nigel_Farage believes#GE2017https://t.co/fwawEMRr7w pic.twitter.com/S1mdrHMnsd
— ITV News (@itvnews) 9 juni 2017
I couldn’t agree more. May has to go. She has failed. And she has jeopardized everything by doing so.
I keep returning to fact May didn’t need to call this election. In fact, when asked she repeatedly ruled it out with no wait and see caveats
— Niall Paterson (@skynewsniall) June 9, 2017
George Osborne tells @itvnews “Theresa May is probably going to be one of the shortest serving prime ministers in our history.” @GMB
— Jonathan Swain (@SwainITV) June 9, 2017
The only good news is that it looks like the Tories should be able to form a government with the DUP (the Democratic Unionist Party from Northern Ireland), which may support May’s Brexit agenda:
326 is official majority. 322 is the real majority required assuming Sinn Fein don’t show up to back Jezza. Con (313) + DUP (10) = 323…
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) June 9, 2017
Overall, though, these results are absolutely horrendous for the Tories and for the entire euro-sceptic movement. It’s a nightmare. European leaders will now tell May that she called for early elections because she needed more support at home for Brexit but that she ended up weakening herself… and thereby Britain’s position in Europe.
May took the gamble and lost. She needs to go and the Tories need to appoint a leader who a) actually supported Brexit from the get-go and b) who is respected in Europe. That’s the only way for Britain to become stable and for its leaders to calmly lead the country out of the European Union.
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