2017 United Kingdom general election

[[File:Theresa May election infobox.jpg|thumb|right|165px|There May have been some mistakes.]]
{{UKpolitics}}
The '''2017 UK general election''' (also known as the 'First [[Brexit]] election' or 'the vanity election'<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/britain-theresa-mays-vanity-election/ Britain: Theresa May’s Vanity Election] ''The Globalist'', 5 June 2017</ref>) was one of those surprising results; the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] became the first leader to ''lose'' a parliamentary majority in a snap election of her own choosing since 1974 (by [[Edward Heath]]) while a 'New Old Labour' under [[Jeremy Corbyn]] proved that despite the around-the-clock attacks by the forces of [[Rupert Murdoch|the right-wing press barons]]<ref>[https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/jeremy-corbyn-impartiality-and-media-misrepresentation/ Jeremy Corbyn, impartiality and media misrepresentation] ''Open Democracy UK'', 29 July 2016</ref>  and the repeated 'frontstabbing' of some [[New Labour]] types<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/21/peter-mandelson-i-try-to-undermine-jeremy-corbyn-every-day Peter Mandelson: I try to undermine Jeremy Corbyn 'every single day'] ''The Guardian'', 21 February 2017</ref> that actually, the ideas of '[[socialism]]' was neither a dirty word or 'unelectable' as [[Labour Party|Labour]] scored their best vote-share since [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]]. However, much of this surprise can be down due to the election being the ending of the 'Second Act' of the Brexit bowel-obstruction - both throwing out the normal electoral calculus ''and'' sucking up the political bandwidth.

==Background==
[[2015 United Kingdom general election|In the previous episode]], Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] had made a 'EU referendum' part of his Conservative offering to the electorate, in the hopes that he'd be able to neuter [[Nigel Farage]]'s [[UKIP]]'s nibbling of the Tory right flank and then the [[Liberal Democrats]] would veto it in their 'negotiations' to continue the Coalition after the election. Alas, the Liberals imploded, leaving Cameron having to cash a very unwanted cheque because he'd won a majority - crap. After zipping off to Brussels for some cosmetic 'renegotiation', Cameron then called the referendum, hoping that a variant of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Fear 'Project Fear']<ref group=note>Which had worked in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.</ref> would assure a 'Remain' victory but not realising that choosing the status quo would only happen if people ''liked'' said status quo. Thus, a 52/48 'Leave' victory, one which many voters (or even Brexiteer leaders) didn't expect to win<ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/brexit-referendum-voting-analysis Brexit referendum: Voting analysis] ''The Parliament Magazine'', 4 July 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/eu-referendum-nigel-farage-remain-edge-it-brexit-ukip-a7098526.html EU referendum: Nigel Farage says it 'looks like Remain will edge it' as polls close] ''The Independent'', 23 June 2016</ref>. Having gambled and lost, Cameron promptly walked off the stage<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/24/david-cameron-resigns-after-uk-votes-to-leave-european-union David Cameron resigns after UK votes to leave European Union] ''The Guardian'', 24 June 2016</ref>, leaving a divided party and nation to try to clear up the huge mess which he'd made for his own political benefit with zero roadmap if it went wrong.

After a bit of fumbling, the Tories ended up with two front-runners; the flamboyant [[Boris Johnson]] (Leave) vs the wooden Theresa May (Remain)<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-leadership-race-boris-johnson-theresa-may-new-prime-minister-7108171.html Boris Johnson and Theresa May rally support for Tory leadership race] ''The Independent'', 28 June 2016</ref>; but then Johnson pulled out (for reasons we still do not know why for sure<ref>[https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/06/why-did-boris-johnson-decide-not-to-run-for-the-prime-ministers-job.html Why Did Boris Johnson Decide Not to Run? Some Theories.] ''Slate'', 30 June 2016</ref>), meaning that May ended up the 55th Prime Minister unopposed<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/brexit-referendum/theresa-may-become-next-u-k-pm-andrea-leadsom-withdraws-n607026 Theresa May to Become Next U.K. PM as Andrea Leadsom Withdraws] ''NBC News'', 11 July, 2016</ref>. 'Poisoned chalice' springs to mind; for May needed to somehow build a parlimentary majority for a version of Brexit within the bounds of reality<ref group=note>But Leave was full of wishful thinking and pure 'cakeism'.</ref> ''while'' 'honouring the Referendum vote'<ref group=note>Except it was not on the ballot what 'Leave' meant.</ref> ''and'' without being deposed as Tory leader by the right-wing/hardline 'European Research Group' (ERG) <ref group=note>Who were bigger than her 14-seat majority.</ref>. From a woman who soon became known as 'the Maybot' for her inflexibility and lack of charisma<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/10/making-maybot-theresa-may-rise-and-fall The making of the Maybot: a year of mindless slogans, U-turns and denials] ''The Guardian'', 10 July 2017</ref> and appeared to be operating close to (if not beyond) her political depth<ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/philippe-lamberts-says-theresa-may-out-of-her-depth/ Theresa May’s ‘out of her depth,’ says senior MEP] ''Politico'', 12 September 2017</ref>. However, there was apparently a glimmering light... in Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour leader [[Ed Miliband]] had changed the electoral system for picking said leaders<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33976474 Ed Miliband 'should apologise for ridiculous leadership rules'] ''BBC News'', 18 August 2015</ref><ref group=note>Basically, going from an 'electoral college' to 'direct popular vote'.</ref>, which then was used after he resigned on Labour's electoral defeat. However, this meant that the traditional left-wing '[[perennial candidate]]' (popular with the activist base but disliked by the trade unions or MPs) suddenly became electable, and almost by chance<ref group=note>It was basically, 'Corbyn's turn' to run as the protest vote.</ref> Corbyn found himself as the new leader, despite zero ministerial or shadow experience in his 32-years in Parliament except rebelling repeatedly against his own party leadership<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/12/jeremy-corbyn-wins-labour-party-leadership-election Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn elected with huge mandate] ''The Guardian'', 12 September 2015</ref>. Predictably, the civil war began in earnest. Heeding [[Tony Blair]]'s calls that a Corbyn victory would lead to the annihilation of the party<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/12/tony-blair-labour-faces-annihilation-if-jeremy-corbyn-wins-leadership If Jeremy Corbyn wins leadership Labour faces 'annihilation', says Tony Blair] ''The Guardian'', 13 August 2015</ref>, the defeated New Labour rump sniped and plotted with the Tory-aligned media in an attempt to bring him down, or at least 'prove' that he was completely unelectable<ref>[https://www.gold.ac.uk/news/media-reform-coalition---corbyn-coverage-report/ Twice as much airtime given to Corbyn critics, new report shows] ''Goldmsith's College News'', 29 July 2016</ref>.

To compound this, Brexit tore Labour apart as bad as the Conservatives; Corbyn was very lukewarm to the EU<ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-eu-referendum-jeremy-corbyn-i-am-not-a-lover-of-the-eu/ Jeremy Corbyn: ‘I am not a lover of the EU’] ''Politico'', 20 June 2016</ref>, following the old left's view of it being an 'neoliberal/globalist project', but a lot of MPs were firm 'Remainers'... representing 'Leave' constituencies. The ruptures became impossible to contain and caused a 'Blairite' coup attempt <ref>[https://www.vox.com/2016/6/27/12040056/brexit-corbyn-labour-coup-benn Brexit has caused the Labour Party to descend into total omnishambles] ''Vox'', 28 June 2016</ref>, leading to Corbyn winning the re-election <ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/24/labour-leadership-jeremy-corbyn-wins-landslide-victory-party Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn wins convincing victory over Owen Smith] ''The Guardian'', 24 September 2016</ref>. As the fighting continued into 2017, the polling swung ever-harder towards 'Conservative landslide' and the media commentariat were chanting 'Corbyn is unelectable!'<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181122233240/https://capx.co/jeremy-corbyn-has-left-labour-unelectable/ Jeremy Corbyn has left Labour unelectable] ''CapX'', 12 March 2017</ref> in unison. It turned MayBot's head, promised her an exit strategy from the political logjam, so called for a snap election in April<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/18/theresa-may-calls-for-general-election-in-bid-to-secure-brexit-mandate Theresa May calls for general election to secure Brexit mandate] ''The Guardian'', 19 April 2017</ref>. Perhaps a little surprisingly for a leader running twenty points behind, Corbyn granted her wish<ref group=note>At this point, a supermajority was required for an early election.</ref>.

The other main political issue of note was the continuation of 'Austerity' policies brought in the Coalition which became increasingly glaring as time wore on<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/payg5b/how-the-tories-fucked-the-country How the Tories Fucked the Country] ''Vice'', 7 June 2017</ref>, as inequality increased, economic growth remained anaemic and public services became increasingly threadbare.

==Campaign==
Not even the most diehard Tory would say the Conservative campaign was even adequate - it was the wrong message ('Brexit means Brexit'), the wrong leader (wooden MayBot delivering the former ad nauseam), the wrong vision (anti-Corbyn red-baiting), the wrong tone (arrogant triumphalism) the wrong targeting (beleving in a 100+ majority from faulty polling) and wrong style ('safe space' presidential tours by The Leader). In fact, it was so dire (and with a pigheaded refusal to change tack) that some cynics started to wonder that it was a cunning Tory plot to lose the election on purpose so a Corbyn-led 'coalition of chaos' had to sort out the Brexit quagmire the Tories had made.

Perhaps more importantly, few were expecting Labour to be able to mount a remotely coherent resistance or campaign. They managed to sew up a fragile truce between the warring factions, produce an anti-Austerity manifesto which masked their Brexit weakness, use their younger activist base to bypass the Tory-controlled traditional media by using social media to reach voters<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170612190408/http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/general-election-only-five-out-of-top-100-most-shared-stories-on-social-media-were-pro-tory/ General election: Only five out of top 100 most-shared stories on social media were pro-Tory] ''Pressgate'', 12 June 2017</ref> and their larger base to counter-act the Tory's war-chest. In many respects, it was a reversal to [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]]; when Labour's Kinnock played 'slick statesman' while Conservative [[John Major|Major]] was the 'scrappy underdog'.

Live head-to-head debates were once again proposed, but May declined, which then led to Corbyn pulling out which put an end to that idea<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2017/apr/26/general-election-2017-may-corbyn-final-pmqs-politics-live General election 2017: Corbyn will not take part in TV election debates without May, Labour says - as it happened] ''The Guardian'', 26 April 2017</ref>. Instead, there was a couple of 'non-debates' where the leaders were intereviewed by political anchor Andrew Neil and later by Jeremy Paxman. Then the BBC decided to host a mass head-to-head anyway, which Corbyn U-turned on but May sent a substitute to instead<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40105324 BBC debate: Rivals attack Theresa May over absence] ''BBC News'', 1 June 2017</ref>. However, in the morning of the election, all but one of the polling companies still gave the Conservatives a ten-point lead while the right-wing print press lined up to fire one last volley into Corbyn's flank<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170613172717/https://pressgazette.co.uk/daily-mail-and-sun-launch-front-page-attacks-on-corbyn-as-fleet-street-lines-up-behind-theresa-may/ Daily Mail and Sun launch front-page attacks on Corbyn as Fleet Street lines up behind Theresa May] ''Pressgate'', 7 June 2017</ref>.

==Results==
[[File:UK House of Commons 2017-06-26.svg|thumb|right|300px|Post-election composition of the House of Commons.]]
The polling results were again, wrong; the Conservative-Labour percentage difference turned out to be only 2.5%, not 8-10%<ref>[https://theconversation.com/why-2017-uk-election-polls-underestimated-labour-79513 Why 2017 UK election polls underestimated Labour ] ''The Conversation'', 15 June 2017</ref>. This kept the Conservatives as the largest party, but 5 seats short of a 'working majority'<ref group=note>Sinn Féin refuse to attend and the Speaker does not count, so the current number of MPs for calculation purposes is 642.</ref>. The main two arguments for this was due to weighting issues; that they'd overestimated the 'shy Tory factor' (which had won in 2015) as well as underestimating the percentage turnout for younger (more pro-Labour) voters<ref group=note>General turnout was 68.8% of registered voters, the highest since 1997.</ref>. Cue humble pie from many political experts and pollsters<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170615062603/http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/political-columnists-eat-humble-pie-and-apologise-over-dire-election-predictions-for-corbyn-and-labour/ Political columnists eat humble pie and apologise over dire election predictions for Corbyn and Labour] ''Pressgate'', 12 June 2017</ref>.

Corbyn and his left-wing supporters in 'Momentum' were ecstatic; they had managed to demolish the key accusation of the Blairites that their policies made them utterly unelectable, that there were 'no votes' on the left to help them to victory. Their detractors, on the other hand pointed out fairly accurately that it was ''not'' a victory for Labour as they were still clearly in opposition and chances were the Conservatives wouldn't run such a damn incompetent campaign next time.

All the other parties slumped; the [[SNP]] lost a third of their seats as the 'Unionist' vote acted tactically, UKIP collapsed under the 'mission accomplished' banner (and Farage's quitting as leader, again<ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/nigel-farage-quits-as-ukip-leader Nigel Farage quits as Ukip leader] ''The Parliament Magazine'', 4 July 2016</ref>) the Liberal Democrats continued to slide as they re-entered the public's consciousness as 'a minor party' and the Greens halved in share as many of their voters found Labour's offering the most appealing for decades. Lastly, the political polorisation of Northern Ireland continued; with both [[Sinn Féin]] and the [[DUP]] ending their more moderate rivals at Westminster.

The end result was fairly predictable; a continued May Ministry, now shored up with a 'confidence and supply' agreement with the DUP<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40245514 Theresa May and the DUP deal: What you need to know] ''BBC News'', 26 June 2017</ref><ref group=note>Basically, they promise to stop the government from collapsing by shoring them up in critical votes.</ref>. Naturally, there was not much love for the MayBot, the woman who lost them a majority<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/09/theresa-may-leadership-in-balance-amid-tory-election-fury Theresa May's leadership in the balance amid Tory election fury] ''The Guardian'', 9 June 2017</ref>. Even worse, there was ''still'' no majority view on 'how to do' Brexit...

[[File:2017 UK General Election Winner%.svg|thumb|right|500px|Results map.]]

{| class="wikitable"

! Turnout: 68.8% (+2.4%) !! Seats !! Change !! Vote % !! Change
|-
| <u>'''Conservatives'''</u> || '''317''' || <span style="color:red">'''-13'''</span> || '''42.3''' || <span style="color:green">'''+5.5'''</span>
|-
| <u>'''Labour'''</u> || '''262''' || <span style="color:green">'''+30'''</span> || '''40.0''' || <span style="color:green">'''+9.6'''</span>
|-
| <u>'''SNP'''</u> || '''35''' || <span style="color:red">'''-21'''</span> || '''3.0''' || <span style="color:red">'''-1.7'''</span>
|-
| <u>'''Liberal Democrats'''</u> || '''12''' || <span style="color:green">'''+4'''</span> || '''7.4''' || <span style="color:red">'''-0.5'''</span>
|-
| <u>'''Other'''</u> || '''24''' || '''0''' || '''7.3''' || '''-12.6'''
|}

[[File:2017 UK general election constituency map.svg|thumb|left|225px|Map showing constituencies as equal area to better indicate the number of seats.]]

{{clear}}

==External links==

*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2017 BBC 'Election 2017' website], still functional.
*[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/26/tory-election-machine-fell-apart-negative-tactics 'How the Tory election machine fell apart'] ''The Guardian''
*[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/22/the-inside-story-of-labours-election-shock-jeremy-corbyn 'Labour's election shock'] 'Long read', ''The Guardian'' 

==Notes==

{{notelist|2|80%}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Brexit]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:British politics]]
[[Category:UK general elections]]

Categories: Brexit, Elections, British politics, UK general elections