British election exit poll points to unexpected trouble for Prime Minister Theresa May that could...
British election exit poll points to unexpected trouble for Prime Minister Theresa May that could test her hold on power
By Griff Witte, Karla Adam and William Booth June 8 at 5:13 PM
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May was locked Thursday in a surprisingly tight contest with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn that could test her grip on power, according to exit polls released after voting ended in the country’s second parliamentary election in the past three years.
The exit poll results showed May’s Conservative Party winning 314 seats in Britain’s 650 member Parliament, leaving it short of the total needed for a majority and 17 short of the number it won in 2015. The Labour Party was projected to win 266 seats in Parliament, up 34 seats from the results two years ago.
The results raise questions about whether either major party will have enough support to form a government without resorting to forming a coalition — a scenario known as a hung parliament.
The exit polls suggest that a so-called “progressive coalition” — including Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh nationalists and others may have as many seats as the Tories. But the Conservatives would also have potential coalition partners if they fall short of a majority, including unionists in Northern Ireland.
In the early minutes after the exit poll’s release, Conservatives were incredulous, saying they believed the results had undersold the party’s performance and that official tallies would give them a higher total.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/britain-votes-in-election-torn-between-terrorism-worries-and-brexit-strategies/2017/06/08/5f080504-4aed-11e7-987c-42ab5745db2e_story.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
