Who did you vote for?
We asked a number of voters to explain the political earthquake that shook the UK last week and to say what the opposition parties should do next.
Tagged Tories
What’s Left for Labour? Some reflections on the 2015 UK general election
By Lorenzo Genito
The results of the 2015 UK general election, although unexpected, are pretty clear. Among the biggest losers are the Liberal Democrats, whose parliamentary representation was slashed from 57 to only 8 seats. The UK Independence Party (UKIP), despite having obtained excellent results in some constituencies, has ended up with only 1 seat. The winners of this election are, first and foremost, the Tories, who managed to score a small yet sufficient majority in the Commons.
Clear victory for David Cameron in UK general election
The Conservatives’ sweep to victory in the 7 May general election means that a triumphant David Cameron will be back at 10 Downing Street without much hassle and without relying on a coalition partner to form the next government. The Tories’ 331 seats give him an outright majority, the first of its kind in over two decades. The Labour Party suffered a humiliating defeat and the Liberal Democrats were crushed beyond anybody’s expectation. In response to such a dismal outcome both Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg stepped down as party leaders, followed by Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party, another underperformer in this year’s general elections
Echoes of 1992 in the UK (or, Reasons to be Cheerful for the UK Left)
By David Yarrow
The polls got it wrong – support for the Conservative Party was under-reported. The election produced a slim Tory majority. This majority was delivered by a moderate leader much closer to the centre ground than his backbenchers. Britain’s relationship with Europe subsequently becomes the defining issue of the Parliament, bitterly dividing the right. And five years down the road the Conservatives suffer their biggest electoral defeat since 1945. This is a description of the 1992 United Kingdom general election, but it could well prove a fairly good approximation of the outcome of the 2015 election too.
