Why Did Tha May Lose The 2015 General Election

The Conservative Party’s rather unspectacular show in the 2017 General Election in the United Kingdom — the results of which trickled in on Friday morning — has shown that Theresa May’s gamble on a snap election has backfired. It is likely to weaken, rather than strengthen, May’s profile in the British politics.

After all, there was an expectation that the 2017 election would enhance May’s standing in international politics and augment her position in navigating through Brexit talks.

When May took what she thought was a bold decision in April this year to call for elections long ahead of the scheduled time, and the opinion polls then predicted a landslide victory for her Conservative Party, there was a general feeling that she was carving

But that has turned out to be a disaster.

By leading United Kingdom to a hung Parliament, her election gamble clearly went wrong.

Why has May failed where Thatcher or Gandhi succeeded? It could be because when Gandhi or Thatcher called for early elections by a year, they had already been in power for four years and had taken some policy decisions and implemented certain astute programmes that had captured the imagination of the voters. Voters had no hesitation in reinforcing their faith and hope in these leaders.

But May had been in office for just around 10 months when she called for elections. She had not taken any major decisions during this period to capture the attention of the voters. Throughout this period, she was largely preoccupied with setting in motion the process of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, as mandated by the British citizens in a referendum last

But as a fervent EU supporter, he did not want to preside over the liquidation of the British ties with the EU. So he honourably walked out. May was in the same boat as Cameron; she had vigorously campaigned for the UK to remain with EU. But she felt no moral conflict in joining the race to succeed Cameron as prime minister when the time came to execute the decision to leave the EU.

It was an oddity, a moral compromise that could not have escaped the attention of the average voter in UK. It was in the fitness of things that she should have carried out the given task — of leading Britain out of the EU — in a low-key manner.

Jeremy Corbyn smiles after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London. APJeremy Corbyn smiles after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London. AP

The Brexit decision was a popular mandate. It did not need a large majority in the House of Commons to effectively pilot the provisions. The Conservative Party had a majority of 16, enough to make essential