CONSERVATIVE MARGIN GROWS IN BRITAIN – AT 8:38 A.M. ET: As the vote count winds up, it appears the conservative victory in Britain's national election is even greater than originally thought. No coalition government will be necessary. From Fox:
British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Tory party scored a decisive victory over the opposing Labour Party, left far-left and far-right parties in the dust and defied pre-election polls with a resounding election triumph he called "the sweetest victory of all."
Aided by the Scottish National Party's rout of Labour in Scotland, Cameron and the Tories left opponents on the right and left in tatters. The Labour Party lost 24 seats in Parliament according to early returns, and party leader Ed Miliband resigned from his role. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg resigned after acknowledging a "cruel and punishing defeat," in which his left-of-center part suffered its worst-ever defeat - dropping from 57 seats to just 8. On the right, UK Independence Party Leader Nigel Farage, a thorn in Cameron's side, failed to win a seat and resigned as party leader.
The resounding victory left Cameron and his party with a slim majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, meaning he won't need to form a coalition government and now has a mandate to implement the party's full agenda of cutting government, entitlements and taxes. With 643 constituencies counted, the Conservatives had 326 seats to Labour's 230.
"I think this is the sweetest victory of all," Cameron said. "There are so many things to be proud of in this result. The fact we held on in Scotland. The fact we extended our representation in Wales. The fact that candidates I have seen work so hard week in, week out, some of them year in, year out, have triumphed in so many seats."
Cameron went to Buckingham Palace Friday to inform Queen Elizabeth II that he had enough support to form a government. It would be the first time the Conservatives had won a parliamentary majority since 1992. Cameron is the first Conservative Prime Minister to win re-election since Margaret Thatcher.
COMMENT: Kind of reminds me of last year's American election, when Republicans retook control of the U.S. Senate by a greater-than-expected margin.
I have no doubt that Obama would have much preferred that the leftists win in Britain. I'm glad he didn't get his way. The next great international electoral test will come in October, when Canada votes. That election will determine whether the great Stephen Harper, Canada's conservative prime minister, remains in power. Polls this month show Harper heading for victory, but it's a long way to October.
May 8, 2015 |