It wasn’t a UK election landslide but a definite shift. Old-school MPs leave or lose seats and Conservatives return to government with the Scottish National Party taking up a significant foothold.
The UK has had a coalition government in power for the last four years. Today saw a significant victory and a cleaning house of UK politics, in particular across the west country. The blue Conservative seats squeezed out the yellow Liberal Democrats and reds of Labour, giving them the majority.
Mr. Cameron has already returned to number 10 after the Conservatives made gains in England, and Wales and Labour lost all but one seat in Scotland.
There is already speculation that David Cameron will begin to reshuffle this afternoon. It is the perfect time to completely review the team Mr. Cameron will have with him to govern the UK.
This UK election has ousted several significant opposition MPs who have resigned, according to the BBC Election Website .
“Ed Miliband steps down after a “difficult and disappointing” night for Labour which saw Ed Balls lose and Jim Murphy and Douglas Alexander defeated by the SNP
“Nick Clegg said he would quit as leader after a ‘crushing’ set of losses, which saw Vince Cable, Danny Alexander, David Laws, Simon Hughes and Charles Kennedy among a slew of Lib Dem casualties
“Nigel Farage has quit as UKIP leader after failing to be elected — although he may stand in the ensuing leadership contest. He has recommended Suzanne Evans take over as interim leader
“George Galloway, who was reported to the police for re-tweeting an exit poll before voting ended, has lost to Labour in Bradford West.”
This graphic clearly shows the shift back toward Conservative across the UK and a cleaning of house in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party have simply cleaned up.
Most interesting about this election is the gains for the Scottish national party and Labour’s embarrassing losses across the entire country with Scotland, literally throwing them out. They have only one seat remaining in comparison to the last election footprint in 2010.
Here’s to a brighter future for everyone. pic.twitter.com/EeN0YFAvBm
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 8, 2015
It seems the polls were all wrong, and the British Polling Council has launched an independent inquiry into the utter failure of the pollsters to predict the outcome of the election.
This UK election victory by the Conservatives means the end of the coalition with no further need for a formal agreement with other parties.
Mr. Cameron publicly thanked both Mr. Miliband and Mr. Clegg, paying tribute to the latter’s contribution to the coalition government across the previous five years.
[Image Credit/BBC]