WASHINGTON — Britain’s election was supposed to be a nail-biter, an inconclusive election that would leave the country’s political future unclear. Instead, it’s anything but.
The results make it remarkably clear who the winners and losers are in this election, as the Conservative Party swept to power with an unexpected majority that returns Prime Minister David Cameron to 10 Downing Street in a stronger position than before.
As the dust settled Friday, it was worth thinking about what the election means for the future of Britain. This was always going to be an important election for Britain, but it didn’t exactly turn out important in the ways that many people suspected it would.
Here’s how the 2015 British election will change the country.
Vision of austerity
Cameron’s vision of austerity is given a clear mandate.
One of the defining visions of Cameron’s center-right Conservative government has been its hope for economic austerity and a less spendthrift British state. It has also been one of his most controversial, dividing the British public and economists alike.
As dramatic as Cameron’s austerity plans were after he was elected in 2010, there was always a sense that he didn’t necessarily have the political clout to justify them.
Now, Cameron’s austerity plan has a real mandate. The Conservatives have won a majority of seats in Parliament and can quite easily form a government without the Liberal Democrats.
Heads are rolling
Despite the disbelief shown when exit polls first came out, the results Friday confirmed what many had feared: The Liberal Democrats had been decimated, and they will be lucky to have a double-figure seat count.
Nick Clegg, the charismatic leader of the party who had prompted high hopes and #CleggMania in 2010, resigned Friday.
As bad as things were for Clegg, however, they sting worse for Ed Miliband, leader of left-center Labour Party, long the second party of British politics. There were many who thought Miliband could overcome the considerable criticism of his public demeanor and win the British election. Labour finished with 232 seats. It actually lost seats since 2010, when it had 258, and Miliband has resigned.
Another candidate with high hopes, Nigel Farage, of the anti-European Union and anti-immigration United Kingdom Independence Party also was forced to resign as party leader after he failed to secure a seat in Parliament.
Scotland’s new order
The Scottish National Party, a party that promotes independence, is on track to win almost every single parliamentary seat allocated for Scotland.
After winning only six seats in 2010 and losing its referendum campaign for an independent Scotland in 2014, the SNP is now quite clearly the dominant force in Scottish politics, with more than 50 seats.
While the SNP has denied it will seek a new independence referendum soon, and it will not form any part of a British government, it’s hard to imagine that this won’t have repercussions.
Even if the SNP does not actively seek independence, its complete domination of Scotland and its left-wing policies will cause a crisis of legitimacy for the Conservatives.
It’s also a major loss for Labour, which had long considered Scotland one of its most stable sources of support. Its losses in Scotland were humiliating. Douglas Alexander, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary and campaign chief, lost his seat to a 20-year-old student. That student, Mhairi Black, is now the youngest British MP since 1667.
European Union
In 2013, Cameron pledged to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union. He later clarified that it would be held before 2017.
There’s not too much evidence that Cameron or the rest of the Conservative Party elite wants Britain to leave the European Union. And he might still try to avoid a vote. But the Conservative Party’s Euroskeptic fringe and United Kingdom Independence Party voters likely will try to force him to keep his word.
There likely will be considerable support from voters for a referendum — the United Kingdom Independence Party might have struggled to win many seats in the 2015 election, but early suggestions are that it won more than 12 percent of the total vote.
How would Britons vote if a referendum is held? It’s hard to say. Polls seem to suggest most would vote to stay in the European Union.
