A loss despite a win

June did not see the end of May. Theresa May doesn’t seem to lose the Prime Ministership with the June election.

But she has lost it. The British Prime Minister by dissolving the Parliament and calling an election to increase the overall majority she already had and strengthen her presence, has suffered a major blow. May’s Conservative Party couldn’t win even a slim majority. While they had a majority of 17 seats in the previous election, the party is now lagging behind by around a dozen seats. Due of the lack of clear majority, May will be forming a new government with the help of other parties. Meanwhile, Labour party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn have secured a spectacular victory in the general elections. Despite the Infightings within the Labour party and conspiracies against Corbyn, the voters gave the party two dozen more seats this time. With the talks on Brexit, Britain’s departure from the European Union, set to start soon, May through her moves, had been planning to have an upper hand in the negotiations with the European leaders over leaving the union. But her calculations misfired. She had said that even losing a seat would lead to failure. The Prime Minister now intends to form the new government with the support of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The habit of the British Conservatives to create a fear about the Labour Party in the society, has been present right from the beginning. The campaigns of Conservative Party was mostly conflicting this time as well with intimidations over Labour Party and Corbyn seizing power if the Conservative Party fails to win the election. When the poll resulted in a hung Parliament, it’s the same anti-Corbyn mentality that prompted the DUP to back the Conservatives. The fact that a warmonger like Tony Blair was the last leader given by the Labour Party to Britain should have also favoured Theresa May. But like many other similar instances, the people in Britain were also seen embracing those who understands them. May’s election campaigns were a huge disaster. But Corbyn was immensely successful. The reason is not only the fear created by the three terrorist attacks. The stances of both contenders in the public issues were gauged by the people. Take the instance of terrorism itself. Theresa May put forth a single formula of isolating certain communities by dubbing them as suspicious and issuing restrictions against them. Corbyn on the other hand, alongside strongly opposing the terrorists, also urged to withdraw the policies that led to the rise of terrorists.

The poll results indicate that the people particularly the new voters coming up to 20 lakh, are convinced of the difference in both the approaches. While May expressed a politics of divide and similar approaches, Corbyn showcased a policy of inclusiveness. Corbyn’s policies have more clarity and credibility in the economic field as well. Another aspect of the election is that the people have shown a tendency to abandon small parties and incline towards larger parties. It might be the desire for a stable government that is reflected in their approach. What is yet to be seen is whether May would implement the lessons learnt from the election. One of the lessons is that the people would distance themselves as the right wing approaches get severe. The election campaigns saw indications of people unhappy with the economic inequality in the country and the imperialistic leanings in the foreign policy. The basic resources for life and peace are all what they want. While Corbyn who endorsed the issues grabbed the votes and the seats, Theresa May known as the iron lady and a powerful ruler, who evaded the real issues, failed in her attempts, which is surely a lesson. June might be see the end of May’s tenure. But what she secured is not victory but a warning.