Theresa May’s gamble has turned to disaster and Britain is about to pay the price for it
We hope the Conservatives will be able to run as a minority government but in the early hours that is still in doubt
THERESA May gambled — and it looks like she has made a giant mistake. Britain may be about to pay the price for it.
The Tories are the largest party, but have fallen short of a majority. We hope that they can somehow run as a minority Government long enough to call another election and sort out the mess.
We don’t relish that prospect, but we need a stable Government.
The more dire possibility is weeks of coalition negotiations and a political car-crash not seen since the 1970s.
That could end with a terrifying joint Labour-SNP Government run by Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn, and the potential break-up of the United Kingdom.
It doesn’t bear thinking about.
Theresa May promised us strong and stable government, but instead we have chaos
Brussels will be licking its lips
Our international standing will hit rock bottom. Deals and investments postponed until the return of the Government are likely to be pulled and Britain’s reputation as a competent, level-headed nation shattered.
Brussels will be licking its lips today. Theresa May promised us strong and stable. Instead we have chaos.
It shouldn’t have been this way.
At the start of the campaign she was seen as a safe pair of hands, saying the right things on Brexit and the nation’s future. She was miles ahead in the polls and looked nailed-on for a landslide.
Corbyn’s freebies lured young vote
Corbyn was seen, even by his own MPs, as a third-rate, hard-left activist more interested in keeping control of his party than governing.
It is almost inconceivable that seven weeks later the Tory majority may have been wiped out. But they ran a dreadful election campaign, trumped by Corbyn’s endless pledges of giveaways, most crucially the ending of tuition fees.
The Conservatives failed to connect with voters under 30. We have been aghast how they have so naively swallowed Corbyn’s fantasy freebies. But they turned out in droves for him.
Too often the Tories have looked as if they don’t care about young Brits’ votes. It has cost them dearly.
We highly doubt a return of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition is on the cards. It remains to be seen if Labour and the SNP could form a Government capable of passing legislation. If they do, we truly fear for the country’s future.
They are both in favour of high taxes, high spending and to hell with the deficit. It would be the “coalition of chaos” we warned of repeatedly.
If she survives as PM, Mrs May must think again about what sort she wants to be
Britain’s only hope is that by this morning the Tories have got over the line — or that Mrs May holds the country together with a minority and we return to the polls in the autumn.
One thing is for sure: the political landscape changed radically yesterday. We’re in dangerous, uncharted waters.