USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    World
    Home / World / Europe

    Britain's general election: a gamble too far for Prime Minister May

    Xinhua | Updated: 2017-06-09 17:05

    LONDON - As British Prime Minister Theresa May gambled her political future on calling a snap general election seven weeks ago, results from Thursday's election show that her party can not form a majority government.

    With 647 out of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives won 316 seats, but failed to hit the 326-seat threshhold for majority. Labour won 261 seats.

    If the Conservatives eventually have to forge a coalition government, which will bring more uncertainties to British politics, they can still rely on the support of Ulster Unionists party of Northern Ireland, which is projected to win eight seats.

    Experts said exit polls gave a strong indication that the election is a significant blow for May as losing the majority will inevitably reduce her authority in a future government. There are calls for her to step down.

    Patrick Dunleavy, professor of politics at the London School of Economics (LSE) said Friday morning he didn't anticipate the actual results of the election to be "strikingly different" from what the exit poll suggested, adding, however, it is unlikely that May will either resign or be deposed as Conservative party leader amid ongoing Brexit process.

    If May does quit Number 10 Downing Street, her 11-month tenure as prime minister would be the shortest in Britain in almost a century.

    "I would think it is very unlikely. Most British prime ministers' careers end in disaster, but this is very quick and I don't think May is a give-up type of person," he said.

    Tony Travers, another professor of politics at LSE, said the question now is how long May would last, and how long it will be until the next general election. No votes were scheduled until 2020 before May unexpectedly called a snap election.

    May's original intention was to increase the 330-seat majority she inherited from predecessor David Cameron to gain a stronger mandate in fierce Brexit bargaining with the European Union.

    Instead, the results of the election have seen the opposition Labour party gain strength, producing a "hung parliament" and making May a weaker prime minister.

    A hung parliament will make the process of Britain leaving the EU more unpredictable as negotiations cannot be carried out single-handedly by the Conservatives but requires consultations with other parties.

    The Conservatives will have to consult with Labour party in particular, which backs Brexit with a softer stance but as of now still lacks a detailed negotiating plan.

    Furthermore, since May will have less of a say in Brexit, experts suggest that she might even face opposition within her own party.

    "It's a complex challenge for her to appear tough with the remaining authority she had, but she would find parts of her own party rebelling," Travers said.

    Markets reacted immediately to the exit poll with the pound was down 1.6 percent to 1.27 US dollars, slightly gaining ground after sliding to as low as 1.26 dollars.

    Samuel Tombs, chief economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics, predicted a further fall of the sterling in the case of a hung parliament. On Brexit, he expected a "hard Brexit" to be more possible.

    "With Brexit negotiations expected to begin formally on June 19, markets rightly will be worried that hardline Eurosceptics will retain leverage over the prime minister's negotiating hand, increasing the risk of a very hard Brexit," he said.

    Tombs adds that the erosion of Conservative seats in the parliament will make it harder for the party to push forward its fiscal tightening plans, which, according to Tombs, include a rise in income taxes for high-income earners and reductions in state pensions.

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    精品久久久久久无码专区不卡 | 无码成A毛片免费| 中文字幕无码人妻AAA片| 日韩人妻无码中文字幕视频| 日韩三级中文字幕| 亚洲精品无码永久中文字幕| 88久久精品无码一区二区毛片 | 中文字幕一区二区免费| 中文字幕精品无码一区二区| 国产成人A人亚洲精品无码| 国产色无码专区在线观看| 亚洲中文字幕无码一区二区三区| 国产成人无码18禁午夜福利p| 曰批全过程免费视频在线观看无码| 中文字幕精品一区二区日本| 99久久无色码中文字幕人妻| 国产精品va在线观看无码| 无码国产精成人午夜视频一区二区 | 人妻少妇久久中文字幕| 午夜精品久久久久久久无码| 国产成人无码18禁午夜福利p | 东京热无码av一区二区| 日韩网红少妇无码视频香港| 伊人久久精品无码二区麻豆| 毛片免费全部播放无码| 中文无码一区二区不卡αv| 久久精品中文字幕久久| 色婷婷综合久久久久中文| 中文字幕亚洲精品无码| 亚洲国产av无码精品| 亚洲av麻豆aⅴ无码电影| 亚洲?V无码乱码国产精品| 中文字幕精品无码久久久久久3D日动漫 | 亚洲开心婷婷中文字幕| 无码乱码观看精品久久| 国产成人无码精品一区在线观看| 国产V片在线播放免费无码| 免费无码专区毛片高潮喷水| 中日精品无码一本二本三本| 中文字幕无码av激情不卡久久| 日韩成人无码中文字幕|