Defying expectations
The result of the British election has defied polls, bookmakers and politics-watchers who said it was too close to call. It was frequently referred to as the most unpredictable election in years. Days before the election possibilities of a hung parliament were being widely discussed. What has happened is a surprise to most. The conservative party has won 53 percent votes and 331 seats, five more than needed for a Common’s majority. Labour has got a second position far below. Cameron’s rivals Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage have resigned taking responsibility for the defeat of their parties, something that never happens in Pakistan.
Equally important is the meteoric rise of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) in a country which has long practiced a unitary form of government centred in London. While the separatists were defeated at the referendum, the sentiment for an independent Scotland still persists. This was reflected in the SNP winning all seats in Scotland except three and shutting out both the Tories and Labour. Wales could be the next to make similar demands. While Cameron has promised to lead a government of “one nation” and make Great Britain greater, he will have to move apace with measures ensuring more autonomy for both Wales and Scotland. Europe is gradually realising that the only way to keep peoples with different identities together is through more devolution and a sense of sharing than through state repression, a lesson that some of the Asian countries have yet to learn.
The Tories managed to capture enough centre ground in England through their economic policies, which paved the way for their victory. Cameron managed to convince a recession weary Britain that a Labour victory would bring economic chaos and threaten Britain’s recovery from the Great Recession with the result that debt will rise and jobs will be lost. It remains t be seen how he fulfils the promise of further improvement of the economy.