UK Election Results - Hung Parliament

June 8, 2017 11:27 PM

The UK has woken up to a hung parliament. No party has an overall majority. Last nights winners are Labour led by Jeremy Corbyn, the losers are the Conservatives under Teresa May, who, it now seems, made an unforced error in calling the election, and UKIP who's support has collapsed. The situation, data and analysis are still unfolding this morning.
posted by Dr Ew (15 comments total)

Conservative + DUP make a small majority once Sinn Fein's seats are subtracted, so we're looking at a largely unreformed Tory government, sadly.
posted by Dysk at 11:42 PM on June 8, 2017

SCHADENFREUDE FRIDAY!

Seriously it might not be a total revolution with a different majority government but remember this was completely unnecessary, 100% called by PM May and she ran on her own "strong and stable" leadership.

Six weeks ago predictions were Tories would wipe Labour off the map and rule victorious into 2030. This... isn't that. And I'm going to enjoy the hell out of the Tory meltdown today, because schadenfreude is delicious and I'm a dirty immigrant who can't vote but couldn't have imagined May fucking up more spectacularly than this.
posted by harujion at 11:48 PM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

But the Conservatives have to accept, surely, that their supposed mandate to take us out of the single market is dead. Ideally we now get a saner Tory PM - Hammond, say - and we accept free movement and avoid some of the more catastrophic consequences of Brexit.
posted by Aravis76 at 11:49 PM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]

I for one welcome the death of neoliberalism as an all-encompassing mist we weren't supposed to talk about in between bouts of coughing.
posted by Space Coyote at 11:52 PM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Kensington and Chelsea is too close to call?!
posted by Aravis76 at 11:52 PM on June 8, 2017

But the Conservatives have to accept, surely, that their supposed mandate to take us out of the single market is dead

That would require them to be sensible, fair, gracious, or some combination thereof, qualities you'd be hard pressed to attribute to the parliamentary Conservative party. They'll insist that as the biggest party, they can enact their will however they see fit.
posted by Dysk at 11:57 PM on June 8, 2017

In the longer view this was not a great Labour performance. But in context it's a huge success for Corbyn; consolidating his de-Blairification of the party and completely dispelling the widely accepted idea that a rift had opened up between Labour members and Labour voters.

Everyone else loses except the Eurocrats, who now scent blood. The chances of a poor Brexit deal or none at all have greatly increased as more time slips away. A small chance of staying in on really humiliating terms opens up.

Here's a horribly plausible scenario; May replaced by Boris, further election, Tory majority.
posted by Segundus at 11:58 PM on June 8, 2017

But there is no "they", that's the point. May's only chance of preventing an internal civil war within the party was to point to her massive - now non-existent - mandate. Hammond personally is in favour of staying in the single market and so are the Osborne contingent generally. Their government will be chaos.
posted by Aravis76 at 11:59 PM on June 8, 2017

Plus the DUP will have power, and they have an obvious interest in keeping free movement and preventing a hard border with Ireland.
posted by Aravis76 at 12:02 AM on June 9, 2017

So May's saying she won't resign. Can her party make her?
posted by harujion at 12:02 AM on June 9, 2017

Terrible losses for the SNP; and the end of any hope that Scotland, which voted against Brexit, might stay in the European Union.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:02 AM on June 9, 2017

Corey Robin:

1. Under a left leadership, Labour denied the Tories a majority, forcing a hung Parliament.
2. So far, 192 women have been elected to Parliament. The most ever.
3. Turnout of young voters was way up, and Labour won them. According to one exit poll, by 46%.
3. Corbyn secured Labour's greatest increase in its vote share since Clement Atlee in 1945. Despite two recent terrorist attacks.
4. Corbyn is one of the most progressive voices on Palestine in Europe.
5. Wilders lost, Le Pen lost, the Tories lost their majority in Parliament, and, well, you've heard me on the question of Trump. So maybe, just maybe, the rightward march is not entirely invincible?
6. Good night.

posted by Joseph Gurl at 12:05 AM on June 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Conservative % of the vote is up 5.5% since 2015, Labour is up 9.5%.

I think what we're seeing is UKIP's collapse (LibDems, Greens and SNP didn't do too great, either), with their supporters being redistributed between Red and Blue.

So May's saying she won't resign. Can her party make her?

Yes, but they'd need to find someone who wants the gig first.
posted by Leon at 12:07 AM on June 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

Eurocrats, who now scent blood

WTAF is a Eurocrat? That's an incredibly childish way to put things. There's no appetite in the EU to punish the UK, because we've already punished ourselves (and the EU citizens who chose to make their lives here) as much as we feasibly can just by voting to leave.
posted by ambrosen at 12:14 AM on June 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

There are no stats available at all about what age groups voted in what numbers. Ignore that bit.

But hey, am encouraged by OP's news that Corbyn has won, because as far as I could tell all night there's at least 5 more years of Tory government and a Brexit-caused austeritygeddon coming.
posted by genghis at 12:15 AM on June 9, 2017