By Joss Whittle
A current look at world affairs will yield a wide variety of issues and struggles; foremost at the moment is the British Election. For the first time since the 70’s, the race for Prime Minister has resulted in a Hung Parliament, causing worry that whatever government is left will be one too weak to adequately reign.A Hung Parliament is when none of the parties running gain the votes of the 326-constituency threshold needed to win.
Currently the closest party to the threshold is the Conservative Party, with 306 constituencies won. After them, the next party in line is Labour, with 258 constituencies.
Liberal Democrat candidate, Nick Clegg, currently holds 57 seats. At this point, he could shift the balance to either of the major parties by forming a coalition. Holding to his campaign standards that the person with the majority vote should win, Clegg is likely to form a coalition with the Conservatives, despite conflicting views, boosting them over the threshold to 363 seats in the House of Commons.
On Friday May 7th,Clegg posted a message to his supporters on the party’s website saying how he thinks it is the Conservatives’ government to run, “I think it is now for the Conservative party to prove that it is capable of seeking to govern in the national interestâ€.
Labour party leader and current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced on May 10th that due to the outcome of the election and the obvious loss of his popularity that he would step down as party leader, and put forth the necessary steps to elect a new party leader.
Brown has made it clear he intends to have nothing to do with the election of a new party candidate. He stated, “I therefore intend to ask the Labour Party to set in train the processes needed for its own leadership election… I will play no part in that contest, I will back no individual candidate”.
Whatever the outcome, it is common opinion, in Parliament, that there will be another election in September 2010 after the new PM has failed to meet their campaign promises due to an unsympathetic Parliament.
The Liberal Democrats have never been an overly strong party; they have cleared a small number of seats in the last few elections and have otherwise run as a more moderate choice than the two aforementioned behemoths.
At current, 649 of the 650 total constituencies have cast their votes, the last constituency of Thirsk & Malton, Yorkshire had to delay their election until the 27th of May due to the death of a candidate. No foul play is suspected.
