On the eighteenth year since the founding of the REPUBLIC,
under the Presidency of Joseph Cao and the Vice Presidency of ReaganClinton
NEWS UPDATE / INTERNATIONAL
2022 British General Election (Part Two)
After lacklustre campaign, Smith saved by nationalist collapse,
Reform collapses as Stewart's Tories make gains, but fall well short,
Labour remains in office with a one seat majority, Smith under pressure to resign
LONDON - United Kingdom - An exciting, drama-filled election campaign has just concluded weeks after it was supposed to, a series of recounts and court challenges in four extremely close seats only coming to an end last Monday.
What was supposed to be a strong campaign by the Labour Party boasting of its successes with handling COVID-19 and keeping the Union together started to fall apart early on. On the policy front, the party's manifesto launch was widely derided over its responses to crime and the cost of living crisis, whereas on the personality front, Smith's awkward and stiff demeanor earned him the moniker of "Owenbot"
. Following a disastrous debate in which Smith was repeatedly harangued by George Galloway, Smith kept himself out of the remaining debates, further undermining his credibility. As fears of an underwhelming victory grew, Labour attempted to switch tack to take on two fronts: fighting the weakened SNP and Plaid for seats Labour had lost in the past decade, and taking on Rory Stewart directly.
The Opposition leader, for his part, had an extremely lucky break when his main competition on the right, the Reform Party, was crippled at the starting gate due to allegations surrounding its leader Michael Gove and alleged cocaine use, as well as a series of scandals involving high profile Reform MP's breaching COVID restrictions. With the Lib Dems also neutered and irrelevant, Stewart took on the government and reversed previously dismal polling, a recovery that, at some point, some believed might end up in a dramatic comeback for the previously battered Tories. For their part, the Lib Dems, SNP and Plaid all performed poorly during the campaign, undermined by previous mistakes and by the combined mounting pressure of the Green, Alba and Workers Party.
It all came down to a dramatic election night, in which the worst fears of the Labour team were realized: the hard-earned 2018 majority was on the verge of being lost. Across the night, Stewart's Tories made gain after gain from the collapsing Reform Party and from Labour itself, but it became clear enough after a few hours that they would fall well short of Labour and, indeed, short of Stewart's personal target of 280 seats. However, Scotland and Wales saved the Prime Minister due to the combined collapse of the SNP and PC, losing much of the support held at their previous peak and handing Smith well over 20 additional seats, enough to keep Labour in power.
As the Lib Dems further slid on the polls, and the UUP and Sinn Fein staged their own comebacks in Northern Ireland, the Greens managed to return to Parliament with a single seat. For their part, despite being written off, George Galloway won a seat for the Workers Party, and Alex Salmond returned two Alba Party MP's to Westminster - costing the SNP half a dozen seats in the process -. Due to the wide variety of competitive parties, several seats were only decided in the subsequent days, raising doubts as to whether Labour would have a majority or not. It was only after a month that recounts yielded a one seat majority after discounting the Speaker and the abstentionist SF, although Labour can reasonably rely on smaller parties to carry on as well.
In terms of resignations, Michael Gove (Reform), Layla Moran (Lib Dem), Humza Yousaf (SNP) and Adam Price (PC) all resigned within the first couple of days. Stewart, despite making substantial gains, has been facing pressure from right-wing rebels who feel his performance was disappointing - and who do not forgive the lack of a pact with Reform -. The biggest casualty of it all, of course, is Owen Smith himself, who has seen his authority collapse after almost losing his majority. Although the Prime Minister vows to continue in office for another full term, a number of Labour big beasts have already raised the possibility of a leadership challenge before the end of the year, putting Smith's political future into question.
June 2022 British General Election:
| Party/Alliance | | Votes (%) | | Seats (Senate / HoC) |
| Labour Party | | 40% (+1) | | 321 MPs (-13) |
| Conservative Party | | 35% (+5) | | 265 MPs (+56) |
| Scottish National Party | | 3% (=) | | 21 MPs (-13) |
| Plaid Cymru | | 1% (-1) | | 8 MP (-10) |
| Reform Party | | 7% (-9) | | 7 MPs (-21) |
| Liberal Democrats | | 5% (-1) | | 6 MPs (-2) |
| Green Party | | 4% (+3) | | 1 MP (+1) |
| Northern Ireland and Others | | 4% (-1) | | 22 MPs (+3) |
| Total | | | | 650 MPs |
Incoming Prime Minister:
Owen Smith (Labour)
Incoming Government:
Labour Majority (1 Seat)
