All results for the general election are through. Despite expectations that they would increase their majority - possibly drastically - the Conservatives instead lost several seats and with it, their majority in Parliament. As a result, in order to govern, the Prime Minister has had to make a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party, a party in Northern Ireland, who have enough seats to support the Conservatives and give them a small majority.
The Labour Party, which had long been expected to losses masses of seats to the Conservatives, instead gained 30 seats. Labour was able to seize long-term Tory seats such as Canterbury and Kensington, both of which (and other seats) were attributed to heavy turnout of the under-25s, which is estimated to have been over 72% this election. While Labour did lose a handful of seats through a combination of them being in Brexit-voting areas or the UKIP vote went to the Conservatives, Labour otherwise weathered the Brexit vote and also increased its margins in many Remain areas, taking out Tories in the process.
The Scottish National Party lost nearly half of its seats but nevertheless remain the largest party in Scotland and the third-biggest in Parliament. Their losses can be attributed to them overplaying their hand at another independence referendum; Scots mostly consider the matter settled and are likely tired of voting, seeing as they've had more national referendums to vote on when the AV from from 2011 is included.
The Liberal Democrats increased their numbers from 8 to 12 but had their margins reduced in some seats and their former leader, Nick Clegg, was defeated in Sheffield Hallam; his loss marked the first time that Labour has won that seat. Despite taking a heavily pro-Remain stance, Liberal Democrat gains were fairly minor.
The United Kingdom Independence Party/UKIP again failed to win any seats and its share of the vote severely collapsed, in both number and percentage. Many UKIP voters returned to the Tories although there were a large number who returned to Labour, too.
It is hard to predict where British poltics will go from here. Some are expecting another election in the fall but that will depend on how well the Tories can govern with their DUP-backed minority administration. It also depends on if any political infighting takes place within any of the parties; while Jeremy Corbyn appears to have emerged from this election unscathed thanks to his strong campaign and achieving the first Labour seat increase since 1997, many on the Tory side are annoyed with their leader for calling an election which they were supposed to win and, instead, ended up losing.
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Friday, 9 June 2017
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Another Scottish referendum - possibly
As a consequence of the United Kingdom voting last year to leave the European Union, Scotland is appearing to move forward with another referendum to leave the United Kingdom:
The argument being used by the Scottish National Party - the largest part in Scotland's devolved parliament - is that since Scotland voted decisively to remain in the European Union, it should leave the UK and rejoin the EU. In reality, it's more likely that the SNP is using last year's referendum as an excuse for another in/out referendum of their own, as the long-held goal of the SNP is to split the UK.
Of course, the SNP is banking on the EU approving Scotland's ascent back into the EU should Scotland leave the UK. This is a risky issue on which to campaign, for there's no evidence that the 45% who voted for Scotland to leave in 2014 are supporters of the EU or that any pro-EU voters who backed Scotland staying in the UK are more loyal to the EU than to the UK; in addition, for a country to join the EU, it must have approval from all member countries. Spain, with nationalist problems of its own, is likely to block a hypothetical independent Scotland from being in the EU.
In the event Scotland does declare independence, then anybody who voted for the UK to leave the EU on the basis that the UK was "strong enough" on its own ought to eat their words and be ashamed for helping to cause the destruction of the UK as it exists now.
The argument being used by the Scottish National Party - the largest part in Scotland's devolved parliament - is that since Scotland voted decisively to remain in the European Union, it should leave the UK and rejoin the EU. In reality, it's more likely that the SNP is using last year's referendum as an excuse for another in/out referendum of their own, as the long-held goal of the SNP is to split the UK.
Of course, the SNP is banking on the EU approving Scotland's ascent back into the EU should Scotland leave the UK. This is a risky issue on which to campaign, for there's no evidence that the 45% who voted for Scotland to leave in 2014 are supporters of the EU or that any pro-EU voters who backed Scotland staying in the UK are more loyal to the EU than to the UK; in addition, for a country to join the EU, it must have approval from all member countries. Spain, with nationalist problems of its own, is likely to block a hypothetical independent Scotland from being in the EU.
In the event Scotland does declare independence, then anybody who voted for the UK to leave the EU on the basis that the UK was "strong enough" on its own ought to eat their words and be ashamed for helping to cause the destruction of the UK as it exists now.
Monday, 23 May 2016
One month until the referendum
In exactly one month, the United Kingdom will be voting whether or not to remain a part of the European Union. To cut a long story short, this election has been called in response to support for and pressure from the United Kingdom Independence Party. Arguments for Britain leaving including it "taking back" its sovereignty and no longer having to pay the EU membership fee whereas arguments for staying including the UK being safer with a nearby cluster of nations and having the benefits of strong human and worker rights laws.
Opinion polling on the referendum is divided, as shown by swings back and forth this year. However, I expect that the United Kingdom will vote to remain part of the EU, much as Scotland voted to remain part of the UK back in 2014.
Opinion polling on the referendum is divided, as shown by swings back and forth this year. However, I expect that the United Kingdom will vote to remain part of the EU, much as Scotland voted to remain part of the UK back in 2014.
Friday, 8 May 2015
Results of the United Kingdom general election of 2015
The results are in and they are not what anybody was expecting. A close election had been anticipated between the Labour and Conservative parties, as well as another hung Parliament. As it turned out, Labour lost significant ground and several of its high-profile members were voted out while the Conservatives surprised everyone by obtaining a majority in the House of Commons, albeit a narrow and vulnerable one.
After the results were clear, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage all resigned as the heads of their parties (Labour, Liberal Democrat and United Kingdom Independence Party, respectively). Labour endured a net loss of 26 seats, the Liberal Democrats lost 49 (down to 8) and UKIP, while actually achieving its best election result to date (third in the popular vote), only won one seat and Farage promised to resign if he didn't win in his target constituency of South Thanet.
Besides the outright Conservative win, the other surprise of the election is the strength of the Scottish National Party victories in Scotland. Scotland has long been a Labour stronghold but the SNP, led by Nicola Sturgeon, was successful in securing 56 of 59 seats up there, which is the highest amount of MPs the party has possessed to date. Labour's losses in Scotland were only partially offset by Liberal Democrat defeats elsewhere in the nation.
The Greens surpassed the one-million-votes mark for the first time in a general election and placed sixth overall in the popular vote; however, the Greens, as with UKIP, only have one MP, which is the seat they won in 2010: Brighton Pavilion, held by Caroline Lucas. The British National Party was fifth in the popular vote in 2010 but was reduced to irrelevancy in this election.
The next general election is expected to be in 2020, as set by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, unless a motion of no confidence passes against the government, which would trigger an early election.
After the results were clear, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage all resigned as the heads of their parties (Labour, Liberal Democrat and United Kingdom Independence Party, respectively). Labour endured a net loss of 26 seats, the Liberal Democrats lost 49 (down to 8) and UKIP, while actually achieving its best election result to date (third in the popular vote), only won one seat and Farage promised to resign if he didn't win in his target constituency of South Thanet.
Besides the outright Conservative win, the other surprise of the election is the strength of the Scottish National Party victories in Scotland. Scotland has long been a Labour stronghold but the SNP, led by Nicola Sturgeon, was successful in securing 56 of 59 seats up there, which is the highest amount of MPs the party has possessed to date. Labour's losses in Scotland were only partially offset by Liberal Democrat defeats elsewhere in the nation.
The Greens surpassed the one-million-votes mark for the first time in a general election and placed sixth overall in the popular vote; however, the Greens, as with UKIP, only have one MP, which is the seat they won in 2010: Brighton Pavilion, held by Caroline Lucas. The British National Party was fifth in the popular vote in 2010 but was reduced to irrelevancy in this election.
The next general election is expected to be in 2020, as set by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, unless a motion of no confidence passes against the government, which would trigger an early election.
Monday, 4 May 2015
The United Kingdom general election of 2015
On Thursday, 7th of May, the United Kingdom will be voting for its next government in the first general election since May of 2010. While there will be local elections running concurrently, unless anything remarkable occurs in them all eyes will be on what happens to Parliament.
What is the predicted outcome of this election? Indeterminable. While it's likely that we'll have a hung Parliament (when no party controls the majority of the seats), predicting which party will win the greatest amount of seats has been extremely difficult. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, are roughly tied in the polls and both are facing setbacks due to smaller parties.
The United Kingdom Independence Party has been averaging between 14% and 16% in the polls; while this doesn't seem like much, it secured around 3% of the vote in 2010 and because it is a right-wing party, it has the potential to split the right-wing vote and usher in a Labour landslide victory. At the same time, the Green party is polling at around 5%, which could offset some Conservative losses, but perhaps more concerning for Labour is polling in Scotland, which suggests that the party could lose nearly all of its seats there (40+) to the Scottish National Party.
The Liberal Democrats, the smallest of "main three" parties, are polling behind UKIP and stand to lose many of their Members of Parliament including Nick Clegg, the party leader. Having a party leader voted out would be an embarrassment, to say the least. The Liberal Democrats have performed poorly in polls since they entered into a coalition with the Conservatives in 2010. If large amounts of Liberal Democrat voters switch to Labour, this could shield the latter party from damage inflicted by Greens and/or the SNP.
With all this in mind, the exact outcome of this election is almost impossible to estimate. 2015 is certain to be both the closest and most unpredictable election in decades.
This will be the first time since 1992 that I have been present in the United Kingdom during its general election. Naturally, I missed the elections of 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010, and in 1992 I was too young to know anything about the election, anyway.
What is the predicted outcome of this election? Indeterminable. While it's likely that we'll have a hung Parliament (when no party controls the majority of the seats), predicting which party will win the greatest amount of seats has been extremely difficult. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, are roughly tied in the polls and both are facing setbacks due to smaller parties.
The United Kingdom Independence Party has been averaging between 14% and 16% in the polls; while this doesn't seem like much, it secured around 3% of the vote in 2010 and because it is a right-wing party, it has the potential to split the right-wing vote and usher in a Labour landslide victory. At the same time, the Green party is polling at around 5%, which could offset some Conservative losses, but perhaps more concerning for Labour is polling in Scotland, which suggests that the party could lose nearly all of its seats there (40+) to the Scottish National Party.
The Liberal Democrats, the smallest of "main three" parties, are polling behind UKIP and stand to lose many of their Members of Parliament including Nick Clegg, the party leader. Having a party leader voted out would be an embarrassment, to say the least. The Liberal Democrats have performed poorly in polls since they entered into a coalition with the Conservatives in 2010. If large amounts of Liberal Democrat voters switch to Labour, this could shield the latter party from damage inflicted by Greens and/or the SNP.
With all this in mind, the exact outcome of this election is almost impossible to estimate. 2015 is certain to be both the closest and most unpredictable election in decades.
This will be the first time since 1992 that I have been present in the United Kingdom during its general election. Naturally, I missed the elections of 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010, and in 1992 I was too young to know anything about the election, anyway.
Friday, 19 September 2014
Results of the Scottish independence referendum, 2014
Voting in Scotland for the independence referendum ended last night at 22:00. The counting lasted throughout the night and at 6:00 today the result was announced: the No side, known as Better Together, secured 55% of the vote and thus, was the victor. Scotland will not secede from the United Kingdom to become an independent nation. As I wrote the other day, I supported a No vote, so I am satisfied with this result.
The immediate effect of the referendum's result, besides the union remaining intact, is that Alex Salmond will be resigning from his positions as the First Minister of Scotland and as the leader of the Scottish National Party. Negotiations to grant further devolution to Scotland will be starting soon and there has been talk of devolution in other parts of the United Kingdom, such as England.
There are two consequences that I don't want to occur from the No vote: firstly, I don't want any violence; a demonstration by the Yes camp has already taken place. There has been enough violence in this country in the past and it doesn't need any more. Secondly, there should not be a second referendum: the people of Scotland have already rejected independence and they should not be forced into more votes.
The No side is entitled, for today, to celebrate its victory; however, once the parties have finished the healing needs to begin. After over two years of campaigning against each other, the two sides need to re-unify as one Scotland and as a Scotland that is still a part of the United Kingdom.
The immediate effect of the referendum's result, besides the union remaining intact, is that Alex Salmond will be resigning from his positions as the First Minister of Scotland and as the leader of the Scottish National Party. Negotiations to grant further devolution to Scotland will be starting soon and there has been talk of devolution in other parts of the United Kingdom, such as England.
There are two consequences that I don't want to occur from the No vote: firstly, I don't want any violence; a demonstration by the Yes camp has already taken place. There has been enough violence in this country in the past and it doesn't need any more. Secondly, there should not be a second referendum: the people of Scotland have already rejected independence and they should not be forced into more votes.
The No side is entitled, for today, to celebrate its victory; however, once the parties have finished the healing needs to begin. After over two years of campaigning against each other, the two sides need to re-unify as one Scotland and as a Scotland that is still a part of the United Kingdom.
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Scottish independence referendum, 2014
Tomorrow, Scotland is holding a referendum on whether or not to become an independent country. The referendum has come about because in the Scottish Parliament general election of 2011 the Scottish National Party, which is in favour of independence, won a majority in Scotland's parliament and subsequently passed legislation to hold a referendum.
The vote is only being held in Scotland, although the decision will affect the entire United Kingdom. I would vote "No" to Scottish independence if I could participate in the referendum. The main reason is the same reason as to why I would be against any US state becoming an independent country: because I do not want to see the breakup of the nation. Scotland and England have been united for more than 300 years, which is longer than the United States has existed.
I am also concerned about the economic consequences. No one really knows what the effect of Scottish independence would be on both Scotland the remaining United Kingdom. The immediate effect would likely be the pound (the UK's currency) dropping in value. Several businesses have stated that they would pull out of Scotland in the event of a Yes vote, which would lead to job losses in Scotland.
There's also the matter of how Scotland and the remaining United Kingdom would be viewed by the rest of the world. I saw it suggested on the news the other night that the United Kingdom's permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council could be in question, although I don't think this should be an issue given that Russia inherited the Soviet Union's seat after the latter disintegrated. Many nations already view the United Kingdom as an irrelevant ex-empire and an independent Scotland could reinforce that image. Then again, this could be a plus if it meant that Scotland and the United Kingdom wouldn't involve themselves in any more foreign conflicts.
All things considered, I think that Scotland should vote for the status quo: to remain in the United Kingdom. This country's government has promised greater devolution for Scotland were it to vote No tomorrow, so Scotland will have greater autonomy regardless of referendum's result. Great Britain is a small island; I hope the family stays together.
The vote is only being held in Scotland, although the decision will affect the entire United Kingdom. I would vote "No" to Scottish independence if I could participate in the referendum. The main reason is the same reason as to why I would be against any US state becoming an independent country: because I do not want to see the breakup of the nation. Scotland and England have been united for more than 300 years, which is longer than the United States has existed.
I am also concerned about the economic consequences. No one really knows what the effect of Scottish independence would be on both Scotland the remaining United Kingdom. The immediate effect would likely be the pound (the UK's currency) dropping in value. Several businesses have stated that they would pull out of Scotland in the event of a Yes vote, which would lead to job losses in Scotland.
There's also the matter of how Scotland and the remaining United Kingdom would be viewed by the rest of the world. I saw it suggested on the news the other night that the United Kingdom's permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council could be in question, although I don't think this should be an issue given that Russia inherited the Soviet Union's seat after the latter disintegrated. Many nations already view the United Kingdom as an irrelevant ex-empire and an independent Scotland could reinforce that image. Then again, this could be a plus if it meant that Scotland and the United Kingdom wouldn't involve themselves in any more foreign conflicts.
All things considered, I think that Scotland should vote for the status quo: to remain in the United Kingdom. This country's government has promised greater devolution for Scotland were it to vote No tomorrow, so Scotland will have greater autonomy regardless of referendum's result. Great Britain is a small island; I hope the family stays together.
Saturday, 9 August 2014
Boring and Dull
Boring in the United States and Dull in the United Kingdom are friends. Why? It's all in their names:
I think it's wonderful that a town in Oregon and a tiny village in Scotland celebrate their uninteresting names together. It's events like this that make the world a better place and - pun fully intended - make it more interesting. I'm also pleased to see that the comments on the linked article above are overwhelmingly positive about the friendship between the two places.
I think it's wonderful that a town in Oregon and a tiny village in Scotland celebrate their uninteresting names together. It's events like this that make the world a better place and - pun fully intended - make it more interesting. I'm also pleased to see that the comments on the linked article above are overwhelmingly positive about the friendship between the two places.
Sunday, 27 July 2014
Liveland History: 27 July 2011
On the 27th of July, 2011, I wrote "2012 Summer Olympics in a year", my one-year countdown post to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London:
Back then, I was unsure about the United Kingdom hosting the Olympics: I didn't think that this country had the facilities and proper motivation to hold them. As such, I expected the 2012 Olympics to be riddled with problems and controversy, and to be ridiculed at home and abroad; when the Olympics finally did arrive, they were a massive success and I was delighted to be proved wrong. I even watched some of those Olympics, as I was staying at my grandparents' house and, as I've written before, my grandmother is a sports fan.
Coincidentally, the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Glasgow, Scotland, are currently underway and since I'm at my grandparents' house, I've been watching some of them!
Back then, I was unsure about the United Kingdom hosting the Olympics: I didn't think that this country had the facilities and proper motivation to hold them. As such, I expected the 2012 Olympics to be riddled with problems and controversy, and to be ridiculed at home and abroad; when the Olympics finally did arrive, they were a massive success and I was delighted to be proved wrong. I even watched some of those Olympics, as I was staying at my grandparents' house and, as I've written before, my grandmother is a sports fan.
Coincidentally, the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Glasgow, Scotland, are currently underway and since I'm at my grandparents' house, I've been watching some of them!
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Twenty pound note
As I've posted pictures of British coins here before, I thought I'd post some pictures of British paper money, too. Here is a twenty pound note:
Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse side of the twenty pound note and is on this side of all the other British banknotes. The current reigning monarch is always on the front of the currency.
The reverse side of the twenty pound shows Adam Smith, the Scottish economic theorist known as the "father of modern economics".
Would you like to see more British banknotes? I'd be happy to post about them!
Would you like to see more British banknotes? I'd be happy to post about them!
Thursday, 11 July 2013
The "Thankful Villages"
Two days ago, my family and I visited the village of East Carlton, located here in Northamptonshire, to visit the East Carlton Country Park. When we returned home later that day, I did a little research about the place and learnt that it is one of England and Wales' "Thankful Villages".
What is a Thankful Village? Well, the Thankful Villages (also known as "Blessed Villages") are the 51 places in the United Kingdom whose military personnel at the time survived World War I; 14 of those villages then became known as "doubly thankful" when all their soldiers also survived World War II. Unfortunately, there are no places in Northern Ireland or Scotland that hold these titles, and East Carlton is not among the 14 doubly thankful locations.
I'm not sure which is more remarkable, while at the same time deeply saddening and horrifying: that there were a few places in the UK that managed to escape tragedy from the world wars or that nearly every place in the UK did receive at least one fatality from those wars. Either way, it's a reminder that conflicts such as the world wars should not happen again and that we should continue working towards a peaceful planet.
Perhaps what surprised me more that day was telling Mum and Dad that we had visited a Thankful Village: neither had heard of the term before I told them. They're highly knowledgeable about British history and I assumed that this was something they were well-familiar with.
I consider it an honour to have visited East Carlton; I would like to visit it again. I have respect for this village and the others that share in its corner of history.
What is a Thankful Village? Well, the Thankful Villages (also known as "Blessed Villages") are the 51 places in the United Kingdom whose military personnel at the time survived World War I; 14 of those villages then became known as "doubly thankful" when all their soldiers also survived World War II. Unfortunately, there are no places in Northern Ireland or Scotland that hold these titles, and East Carlton is not among the 14 doubly thankful locations.
I'm not sure which is more remarkable, while at the same time deeply saddening and horrifying: that there were a few places in the UK that managed to escape tragedy from the world wars or that nearly every place in the UK did receive at least one fatality from those wars. Either way, it's a reminder that conflicts such as the world wars should not happen again and that we should continue working towards a peaceful planet.
Perhaps what surprised me more that day was telling Mum and Dad that we had visited a Thankful Village: neither had heard of the term before I told them. They're highly knowledgeable about British history and I assumed that this was something they were well-familiar with.
I consider it an honour to have visited East Carlton; I would like to visit it again. I have respect for this village and the others that share in its corner of history.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Glenelg
Here's a small, day-brightening piece: the town of Glenelg in Scotland recently held a ceremony to twin itself with a part of Mars with its namesake:
The Curiosity rover is supposed to visit Glenelg on Mars twice, which prompted the twinning. When humans colonise Mars and the Glenelg over there is incorporated the twinning can be reciprocated! Imagine the community exchanges between the two places.
The Curiosity rover is supposed to visit Glenelg on Mars twice, which prompted the twinning. When humans colonise Mars and the Glenelg over there is incorporated the twinning can be reciprocated! Imagine the community exchanges between the two places.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)