The United Kingdom’s General Election on May 7th, 2015, resulted in the Conservative Party gaining an absolute majority of seats. Read more about it at the European Business Review blog post. The Scottish National Party won 56 seats and became the third-largest party. The Labour Party suffered its worst defeat since 1987 with only 232 MPs elected to Parliament. “It is a momentous result,” said David Cameron, Prime Minister for this past five years. ” If you’re wondering what happened to this election, read on.
What Happened on May 7th, 2015
So, what happened on that day? What election was held? The UK General Election of 2015. Who were the contenders? The Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party (SNP), UKIP, and Green Party. What was the outcome? The Conservative Party gained an absolute majority of seats in Parliament with 331 out of 650. Labour suffered its worst defeat since 1987 with only 232 MPs elected to Parliament.
The Results of the Election
The SNP won 56 seats and became the third-largest party. “It is a momentous result,” said David Cameron, Prime Minister for this past five years. The UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system means that smaller parties often poll strongly but don’t win many seats — UKIP got 12% of the vote, but only one seat. So what will happen next? David Cameron is set to stay as Prime Minister and form a new government with his Conservative Party.
After their defeat, the Labour Party is in disarray and will have to do some serious soul-searching to figure out where they went wrong. It will be interesting to see how the SNP performs in the UK Parliament. They are likely to push for another Scottish Independence Referendum, something they lost in September 2014 after promising it would happen if Scotland voted against independence.
How the Election Affected UK Citizen’s Lives
So what does this mean for the average UK citizen? Well, it depends on who you ask. The Conservative Party promised to reduce taxes and increase spending on the National Health Service (NHS), which many people welcomed. Labour campaigned on a platform of raising taxes for high earners and reversing some of the welfare cuts made by the Conservatives.
The Liberal Democrats, who were in a coalition government with the Conservatives from 2010 to 2015, lost most of their seats and are now essentially irrelevant. UKIP campaigned to leave the European Union and restrict immigration, while the Green Party called for more investment in renewable energy and public transport.
So what will happen next? That’s up in the air. The Conservatives have promised an in/out referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the European Union (EU) by 2017, but it’s unclear if they will go ahead with such a vote or not.
