Electoral Disaster Looming For British Prime Minister Theresa May
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-election-idUSKBN18Z2UQ
Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party will fail to win a parliamentary majority in Britain's election, according to an exit poll on Thursday, a shock result that would plunge domestic politics into turmoil and could delay Brexit talks.
The exit poll predicted May's party would not win a majority of the 650 seats in parliament to take office alone, meaning she would have to form a coalition or attempt to govern with the backing of other smaller parties.
The exit poll predicted the Conservatives would win 314 seats and the Labour Party 266, meaning no clear winner and a "hung parliament".
The exit poll sent shockwaves through financial markets. Sterling fell more than two cents against the U.S. dollar. .
It was an extraordinary failure for May, who was enjoying opinion poll leads of 20 points and more when she called the snap election just seven weeks ago.
But her lead had gradually shrunk over the course of the campaign, during which she backtracked on a major social care proposal, opted not to take part in a high-profile TV debate with her opponents, and faced questions over her record on security after Britain was hit by two Islamist militant attacks that killed 30 people.
"If the poll is anything like accurate, this is completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and for Theresa May," George Osborne, who was the Conservative finance minister from 2010 to 2016 when he was sacked by May, said on ITV.
Analysts were treating the exit poll with caution. In the last election, in 2015, the corresponding poll predicted May's predecessor David Cameron would fall short of a majority. But as the night wore on and the actual results came in from constituencies, it became clear he had in fact won a majority, albeit a small one of just 12 seats.
That outcome was a triumph for Cameron though, because he had been predicted to fall well short. For May, who went into the campaign expecting to win a landslide, even a narrow win later in the night would leave her badly damaged.
Until the final results become clear, it is hard to predict who will form the next government.
"It's difficult to see, if these numbers were right, how they (the Conservatives) would put together the coalition to remain in office," said Osborne.
"But equally it's quite difficult looking at those numbers to see how Labour could put together a coalition, so it's on a real knife edge."
Political deadlock in London could derail negotiations with the other 27 EU countries ahead of Britain's exit from the bloc, due in March 2019, before they even begin in earnest.
A delay in forming a government could push back the start of Brexit talks, currently scheduled for June 19, and reduce the time available for what are expected to be the most complex negotiations in post-World War Two European history.
The poll forecast the Scottish National Party (SNP) would win 34 seats, the center-left Liberal Democrats 14, the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru three and the Greens one.
If the exit poll is correct, Labour, led by veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn, could attempt to form a government with those smaller parties, which strongly oppose most of May's policies on domestic issues such as public spending cuts.
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The election was called to consolidate her position after Brexit and the US election. Now it appears she made a big miscalculation.
I prefer to wait for the actual results, but if these prediction are anywhere near correct it will be a shock and a major defeat for May.
The cuts in the police department were, IMO, bizarre. With the terrorist attacks and having to keep track of the hundreds/thousands of possible terrorist the last place you should cut it the police.
Speaking of the London police, a video is on the internet showing the quick response and the deadly force used by the police. This is of course is after some of our keyboard warriors were making some derogatory comment about them.
Exit polls in the United States have historically been very accurate. I am not familiar with Britain's record with exit polling.
Prime Minister Theresa May said she called the snap election to try to strengthen her hand in negotiations with the European Union on Brexit.
But if the exit poll is borne out by results, analysts say the PM will have made a serious miscalculation.
The pound fell sharply after the exit poll as traders had been expected a clear victory for Mrs May's party with an overall majority in the House of Commons.
The pound fell by more than two cents to $1.2717 against the dollar.
The exit poll suggests the Conservatives would be 12 seats short of an overall majority.
It suggests Labour would gain 34 seats, the Conservatives would lose 17 seats, the Lib Dems would gain six and the SNP lose 22 seats.
The Green Party would be unchanged with one seat and Plaid Cymru would still have three MPs, according to the poll.
This is good news, maybe snowflakes take refuge in that cess pool of multicultural terrorism. I'd buy you a one way plane ticket if you want to go.