Day: June 9, 2017

    When no political party wins enough seats to secure a majority in the House of Commons, the outcome is known as a hung parliament. With 650 MPs sitting in Westminster, a party needs to win at least 326 seats to be sure of a majority. The 2017 general election exit poll suggests no party is on course to pass that threshold; the Conservatives are forecast to win 314 seats and Labour 266. What happens with a hung Parliament? The UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system means hung parliaments rarely happen in Britain, but it was the case following the 1974 election and most recently, of course, in 2010. In the case of a hung parliament, the leader of the party with the most seats is given the opportunity to try to form a government. This can take two forms: one option is a fo...

    Lib Dem Nick Clegg has lost his seat in Sheffield Hallam in the most unpredictable election night in decades. The former Lib Dem leader who served as Deputy Prime Minister in the 2010 coalition government saw Labour eat into his majority in 2015. He lost by 2,125 votes to Labour newcomer Jared O'Mara. As the ballots were counted, local sources were suggesting many of the traditionally Tory voters in the constituency who usually vote Lib Dem tactically to keep Labour out had returned to the Conservative Party. A local Labour source said: Tories that backed him there last time won't do it again this time, mainly because they're Brexiteers. The rise and fall of Nick Clegg Clegg looked devastated as he said in a concession speech: I’ve never shirked from political battles, I’v...

    Labour's Tulip Siddiq has accused Prime Minister Theresa May of wasting time "scaremongering" the British public during the election campaign rather than focusing on the vital Brexit negotiations. The MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, who is bidding to hold her seat in the face of a Conservative challenge, accused Mrs May squandering months of vital EU talks with an unnecessary election. Speaking as she arrived at the Camden count, she said it was good that, according to exit polls, the Tories appear to have failed to deliver the landslide victory they were seeking. All I could say is that's good, because she has underestimated the British public, said Ms Siddiq. People don't like scaremongering which is what she tried to do. It was an unnecessary election at a time when we sh...