David Cameron as head of the UK's Conservative Party remains prime minister for another five year term.
This was the decision of the voters in the UK election held yesterday, May 7th.
Cameron’s party won an unassailable 331 of the 650 seats in parliament, with Milliband’s Labour Party winning only 232 after having lost all but one seat in Scotland. The Liberal Democrats ended up with only 8 seats, the Scottish Nationalists with 56.
The result means that within the next two years, Cameron will hold an historic vote on whether the UK should remain in the European Union.
The second Conservative pledge is to continue its tight grip on government spending to further reduce the UK’s budget deficit as the economy continues to grow.
Sterling rose 1.5% - 2% with a pound buying €1.38 or $1.5430 in early trading.
The result means Cameron can sail free of his awkward tie to the Liberal Democrats.
Scotland was Labour’s real problem with the Scottish National Party taking 56 out of 59 seats meaning the SNP may again demand a referendum for independence.
The Liberal Democrats in coalition with the Conservatives won only 8 seats leaving leader Nick Clegg out of the political picture but remaining as an MP.
UKIP which wants out of Europe failed to build on earlier polls and gained one seat. Its leader Nigel Farage was not elected.
Early opinion polls showed the Conservatives and Labour with similar numbers of seats leading to political pundits guessing on what form of coalition would have to be formed.
The results, however, saw Cameron surge ahead and strengthen his grip on his party and on the country’s economy. Pollsters, astonished at how inaccurate their work had been, are to hold an inquiry into their failure.
Leaders Nick Clegg, Ed Milliband, and Nigel Farage have all stepped down.
An inquiry into the fate of thousands of votes from overseas should now take place as may ballot papers were sent out too late, some with UK rate postage, thus preventing expat voters to register their preference.
As Cameron again has been returned and leads Britain, his promise of scrapping the arbitary '15 year rule' after which time expats are prevented from voting in UK elections, with many also prevented from voting in their conntry of choice, will need to be kept to give overseas voters some say in UK domestic policy which often affects them as much as UK based voters.
In a letter to veteran campaigner Harry Shindler received before the election, Cameron wrote;
“That is why we have recently pledged that if we win the General Election, we will abolish the ‘15 year rule’ that prevents millions of British expats from being able to vote. If our party wins power in May, we will remove the cap that prevents Britons from voting in UK elections after they have been out of the country for 15 years and allow them the vote for life. I hope you find this reassuring.”"
