The Britons, perhaps are confused people. If usually not, they have been definitely confused since the Brexit Referendum. For they do not seem to decide which side to choose. First, they came up with Brexit in 2016, creating ripples on the island’s politics and witnessing a sudden change of leadership at home. The then PM David Cameron, who had supported the Remain, resigned in the aftermath of the Referendum results. Soon the succession of leadership brought Theresa May to the place left by her party leader, whose cause of avoiding the divorce with the EU had been defeated. Interestingly, the new PM, herself an exponent of Remain, had to embrace a cause that was never hers in the first place, and which led her to repeated embarrassments in pursuing during her tenure of 3 years.
The confused PM of an apparently confused society of UK- excluding Scotland, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar and even, for that matter Wales- dissolved her House of Commons, leaving the power for the sake of a fresh mandate. However, this apparently dignified manner, with which British politics is characterized by, ended up with her further embarrassment when people, despite her change of heart, gave her less majority despite her emphatic statement that from now on, “Brexit means Brexit”.
Not to mention the unending humiliation she received during her tumultuous reign of 3 years in power, where she seemed to do everything except exercising it. Her hard-earned Brexit Deal which took over a year to be agreed upon, was ruthlessly stuck down by not only the Labor opposition, but the majority of her own MPs, thrice.
Now with the European Elections concluded, with new emerging realities, the country’s no longer a two-party system. The sudden rise of the UK’s Brexit Party of Nigel Farage has hijacked the political stage for the time being. The party that is most Euro-skeptical has now in Europe. It is at once ironic and indicative of the confusion of the British voters who perhaps have not been able to decide which way suits them. Their inconsistencies in the political behavior, with the yardsticks of the referendum and the following election in both UK in 2017 including the recent European Election, are manifested. For they have never accepted Nigel Farage in the country’s mainstream politics, where he has been a ‘serial loser’.
With Nigel Farage at the head of the leading parties in European Elections, followed by the Liberal Democrats, it seems as clear as daylight that the myth of the UK’s two-party system is ending. It gained over 31 percent of the vote, almost equivalent to the combined vote of the Conservative and Labor. Lib Dems achieved 20 percent of the votes, followed by the Labor which was placed third with 14 percent of the vote.
However, the worst performance was from the ruling Conservative party, whose beleaguered PM, accepting her defeats to materialize Brexit, has announced to resign on June 7. With the decision to quit, she also admitted that,
“It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.”
Perhaps she had gone too far in embracing Brexit cause as her own and perhaps her country expects someone with more conviction to take up the cause to effect Brexit. Or perhaps this result is a satisfying answer for those seeking another referendum on Brexit. Or perhaps the Britons are not as confused as they seem to be. While reflecting their opinions through this European election- in which, by giving the number of votes to the party most opposed to the EU, while giving the second (most) number of votes to the party, the Lib Dems, which is pro-EU- they have clearly indicated the future of the two major parties of the country, which is everything but not bright.
