Britons went to the polls today to vote in a bitterly divisive national election. The election could help propel the U.K. out of the EU, prolong a Brexit impasse, or give a glimmer of hope to those who want to remain part of the 28-nation bloc.
Britons went to the polls Thursday in a bitterly divisive national election that could help propel the country out of the European Union, prolong a debilitating Brexit impasse, or give a glimmer of hope to those who want to remain part of the 28-nation bloc.
“If Conservatives fail to win adequately enough, even if they win more seats than Labor, Boris Johnson may find himself out,” John Curtice, a polling expert at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, told the BBC.With wet and chilly weather in much of the country on Thursday, and snow in the Scottish Highlands, there were nonetheless long lines at many polling places.
The vote is also considered one of the most volatile in years, with opinion polls conducted in the days before the election suggesting that millions of people remained undecided. Among Britain’s population of 66 million, 46 million are eligible to vote, including many young people who have reached voting age since the Brexit referendum more than three years ago.
“Even if you have never voted Conservative before, this is your chance to be heard, and I promise I will not let you down.” Labor’s Brexit stance is ambiguous. Corbyn said he would renegotiate a divorce deal with the EU, and then put the vote to the public in a second referendum. But he did not publicly take sides as to whether Britain should stay or go.The party sought instead to highlight social issues, promising heavy investment in the struggling National Health Service, together with schools, housing and transport.
Corbyn has his own hurdles to overcome. He has been dogged by a persistent strain of anti-Semitism within his party, which led Britain’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, to declare he was unfit for office.
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