Failed gambit

Failed gambit

UK polls put paid to May's hard Brexit.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to call for snap elections in the UK has blown up in her face. May had hoped that the polls would give her an enhanced mandate and strengthen her hand at forthcoming Brexit negotiations.Instead, the results have thrown up a hung parliament with May's Conservative Party losing its majority . On the other hand, the opposition Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn has gained a significant number of seats and revived itself. Following the Brexit referendum, the snap polls represent the second disastrous election called by a Tory PM in two years.
It reflects poorly on May's leadership that she has brought her party to this pass. Although the Conservatives will in all likelihood cobble together a coalition government, May no longer has the political capital to push for a hard Brexit ¬ the centrepiece of her poll campaign. The election results show that British voters were concerned about the possible repercussions of a hard Brexit, including lower public spending. Consequently, consensus appears to be emerging that the UK can't completely cut itself off from EU. All of this will certainly make Brexit negotiations more complex.
UK election results also strengthen evidence of a rethink on anti-globalisation tendencies that were rising in Europe. After polls in Holland and France saw the electorate reject far-right populist parties that were critical of EU, the British people too seem to have voted for a more temperate approach to issues such as migration and trade. It's noteworthy that UK polls witnessed a significant increase in youth voter turnout. Young people tend to be more optimistic about the future and value mobility and job opportunities abroad. Hard Brexit would have been anathema to many of them. In that sense, May's political gamble has failed spectacularly.