Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party wins majority in parliament

December 14, 2019 | Tom McGill


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U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, led the Conservatives to their largest victory since former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s re-election in 1987. According to the Economist the party won 364 seats with one seat left to declare (a 49 seat increase from the previous result), while the Labour party was heading for 202 seats (down 60), the Scottish National party was heading for 48 seats (up 13), and the Liberal Democrats were heading for 11 seats (down 2). This leaves Mr. Johnson with a majority of 79 seats. In his victory speech on Friday morning, he emphasized their intention to “get Brexit done,” as was his campaign slogan. “We will get Brexit done, on time, by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes,” he said. The British pound surged ~2% to its highest level against the U.S. dollar since June 2018, just before the release of an exit poll for the election. Following the results, President Trump congratulated Boris Johnson on Twitter, adding that this opens the door to a trade deal between the U.K. and the U.S.

 

 

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