Brexit Completion by End of January as UK Conservatives Sweep to Victory
The United Kingdom woke up this morning to a Conservative majority as Boris Johnson’s pro-Brexit party swept to victory in the general election.
Of the 650 seats in Parliament, 326 are needed to form a majority Government.
At the time of publication, the Conservatives had secured 364 seats, with one seat left to be declared.
With Brexit now almost certain to happen by January 31st, European Council President Charles Michel tweeted, ‘I would like to congratulate @BorisJohnson on his victory. We expect a vote on the withdrawal agreement as soon as possible. #EU is ready for the next phase. We will negotiate a future trade deal which ensures a true level playing field.’
In his election victory speech, Mr. Johnson focused on Brexit, reiterating his promise that the UK will leave the European Union by the end of January 2020.
He said, ‘With this mandate and this majority we will at last be able to get Brexit done.’
Referring to the uncertainty surrounding the UK’s departure from the EU over the last three years he said, ‘I will put an end to all the nonsense and we will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January……….no ifs, no buts, no maybes.’
He said the UK would be ‘Leaving the EU as one United Kingdom, taking back control of our laws, borders, money, our trade and immigration system.’
It was the biggest win for the Conservative party since 1987.
It was a night of surprises starting with the Exit Poll published immediately after the polls closed which predicted the Conservatives would win with an overwhelming majority.
The Conservative party had led in opinion polls throughout the election campaign but with that lead thought to be narrowing yesterday, no one could have predicted the size of the win they would go on to secure.
Due to the poor result for the Labour party, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has announced his intention not to lead the Party into the next general election. Securing just 203 seats, the Labour leader said his party would undergo a ‘process of reflection on the result and the policies that the party will take going forward.’
He did not give a firm indication as to when he would step down saying, ‘I will lead the Party during that period to ensure that process takes place.’
Leader of the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, lost her seat overnight and has stepped down as leader of the Party.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) had a successful election, winning 48 seats, 13 more than in the 2017 election.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the result has exceeded her expectations and that Scotland has sent ‘a clear message’ on a second independence referendum.
Downing Street has indicated there will be a minor Cabinet reshuffle on Monday and Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill will be put back before MPs next Friday.
(Image by Daniel Diaz via Pixabay)
