Photonews Logo Photonews logo
  • Home
  • Pakistan
    • Punjab
    • Sindh
    • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
    • Azad Jammu Kashmir
    • Balochistan
    • Gilgit – Baltistan
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Videos
    Good Fortune trailer
    Videos

    First Trailer for Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune, Starring Keanu Reeves

    May 29, 2025 2 Min Read
    Last of Us Season 2
    Videos

    ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Premieres Date What to Expect From HBO’s Hit Series

    April 13, 2025 2 Min Read
    Disney Snow White box office
    Videos

    Snow White Teaser Drops: Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler Shine

    February 22, 2025 1 Min Read
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Offbeat
  • Blog
  • Contact
Reading: Conservatives set for surprise UK election win
PhotoNews Pakistan PhotoNews Pakistan
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • Home
  • Pakistan
    • Punjab
    • Sindh
    • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
    • Balochistan
    • Azad Jammu Kashmir
    • Gilgit – Baltistan
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Offbeat
  • Blog
  • Contact
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2022 Photonews. All Rights Reserved.
PhotoNews Pakistan > Top News > Conservatives set for surprise UK election win
Top News

Conservatives set for surprise UK election win

Web Desk
By Web Desk Published May 8, 2015 6 Min Read
Share
SHARE

Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives looked on course Friday for a surprise victory in Britain’s general election which would redefine the country’s future in Europe and herald more austerity cuts.

Exit polls upended pre-election forecasts of a knife-edge contest with Labour and pointed to a landslide for Scottish nationalists that could reopen the question of independence for Scotland.

The pound rallied on currency markets as the poll commissioned by Britain’s national broadcasters put the centre-right Conservatives on 316 seats, compared to 239 for Ed Miliband’s centre-left Labour party.

As well as the Conservatives, the other big winners were the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), which has so far won 50 of the 59 seats north of the border and is forecast to sweep all bar one.

Its winners included 20-year-old Mhairi Black, Britain’s youngest MP since 1667, who defeated Labour’s campaign chief Douglas Alexander.

But it was a terrible night for the Liberal Democrats, junior partners in Cameron’s coalition since 2010, who lost at least two senior ministers.

Their leader, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, said the centrist party had suffered a “cruel and punishing” night and hinted he could step down.

The Conservatives do not look to have the clear majority of 326 seats in the House of Commons but the results, if confirmed, would put Cameron in a strong position to remain in power, potentially as leader of a minority government working with smaller parties.

“The people of Britain after a long and exhausting campaign have finally spoken,” London Mayor Boris Johnson, tipped as a future Conservative Party leader, said after being elected as a lawmaker.

Consequences for EU

If the results are borne out they could put Britain on a collision course with the European Union as Cameron has promised an in-out referendum on membership.

The success of the SNP could also increase pressure for a fresh referendum on Scottish independence, even though that was rejected just last September.

Professor Patrick Dunleavy of the London School of Economics said the exit polls indicated that Cameron “looks like he’s there for five years” — the full length of a parliamentary term in Britain.

“The paradox is David Cameron survives as prime minister but prime minister of a minority government which doesn’t have the votes to do anything radical,” he added.

If the Conservatives do fall short of a clear majority, they would have to team up with a smaller party or parties such as the Liberal Democrats or Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionists to take power.

Labour could in theory still attempt to put together an alternative alliance with the SNP and other left-leaning parties but, if the exit polls are borne out, the Conservatives could claim significant moral authority as the biggest party by far.

Election night parties were being held across Britain as voters watched eagerly to see which way the election would turn.

“I voted for the Conservatives because Labour is not competent on financial matters,” said Ben Woodthorpe, 39, as he sipped a beer in a pub in the City of London financial district.

The mood in the Labour camp was, by contrast, glum.

“I am very disappointed because it looks like the majority is going towards the Conservative side,” said Nick Mabey, a Labour supporter in London.

“Labour has been screwed by what happened in Scotland,” he said.

The pound rose to $1.5479 in Asian trading, its highest level since late February.

Cameron would extend an austerity drive borne out of the 2008 global financial crisis, with the Conservatives vowing to bring the budget of the world’s fifth-biggest economy back to balance.

All about the numbers

 As the SNP turned the electoral map of Scotland yellow, its former leader Alex Salmond, who was replaced by Nicola Sturgeon last year, was among the lawmakers returned to the House of Commons.

He summed up the sense of euphoria in the pro-independence party in which he is still seen as a figurehead, saying the “Scottish lion has roared”.

“There is a roch (rough) wind blowing through the great glen of Scotland this morning,” he said after winning his seat in northeast Scotland.

“There is a swing underway in Scotland the like of which has not been seen in recorded politics.”

Under Britain’s electoral system, a party needs to be able to command a majority in the 650-seat House of Commons in order to form a government.

While Cameron may fall just short of that figure — in practice around 323 — British newspaper front pages reflected expectations that he will return to 10 Downing Street.

“Swinging the blues” was the front page of Conservative-supporting Sun, referring to the Conservative party colours.

But the front page of the left-leaning Daily Mirror was black except for the words “General Election 2015. Condemned Again Five more damned years?” – AFP

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Email Copy Link Print
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

Ban on Double electricity meter in Pakistan

Pakistan Power Division Denies Ban on Double Electricity Meters

Olivia Rodrigo David Byrne Governors Ball

Olivia Rodrigo and David Byrne Stun Governors Ball with “Burning Down the House” Duet

Pakistan heatwave 2025

Pakistan Braces for Severe Heatwave: Karachi Faces Hot, Humid Conditions

Karachi Landhi Factory Fire in Landhi Export Processing Zone

Factory Fire in Karachi’s Landhi Industrial Area Challenges Firefighters

China RoboBrain 2.0

China Unveils RoboBrain 2.0: A Leap in Humanoid Robotics AI

Post Archives

More Popular from Photonews

Salary Increase and Pension Reforms
Business

Pakistan’s 2025-26 Budget: PPP Demands 50% Salary & Pension Hike

2 Min Read
Marnus Labuschagne Opening for Australia
Sports

Marnus Labuschagne Eyes Australia’s Test Opener Role in WTC Final 2025

3 Min Read
Sindh 11th grade admissions 2025 SECCAP
Sindh

Sindh Approves Grade 9-Based Admissions for 11th Grade in Government Colleges

2 Min Read
Entertainment

Chappell Roan Steals the Show at Primavera Sound with Viral Dance Moment

Primavera Sound in Barcelona delivered a night of electrifying performances, but Chappell Roan created the festival’s…

June 8, 2025
Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 137th Goal Seals Portugal’s Nations League Final Spot

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 137th international goal, leading Portugal to a 2-1 comeback victory against Germany…

June 5, 2025
World

Sharmishta Panoli Granted Interim Bail by Calcutta High Court in Operation Sindoor Case

The Calcutta High Court granted interim bail to Sharmishta Panoli, a 22-year-old social media influencer and…

June 5, 2025
World

Antoine Massey, $50K Fugitive, Denies Escape in Viral Instagram Video

On June 1, 2025, Antoine Massey, one of two fugitives still at large after the May…

June 3, 2025
PhotoNews Pakistan

Always Stay Up to Date

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Categories

  • World
  • Pakistan
  • Punjab
  • Sindh
  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Balochistan
  • Azad Jammu Kashmir

 

  • Top News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Videos
  • Tech
  • Offbeat
  • Blog

© 2024 Phototnews
All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?