May faces pressure to resign after hung parliament confirmed

Brits headed to the polls yesterday to vote in an early election called by Theresa May on 18 April. In the aftermath of her announcement analysts reported a Tory win was a foregone conclusion given May’s healthy lead in the polls.

Today the country has woken up to the news that the Tories have won, but not with the landslide they were expecting – a hung parliament was confirmed after the Conservatives failed to secure a majority with 315 seats.

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In the two months since the snap elections were called Jeremy Corbyn closed the gap in the opinion polls considerably. The Labour leader’s rallies across the country drew thousands of supporters whilst record levels of young people across the country registered to vote.

Read: What happens with Brexit if there’s no clear winner of UK election?

Labour won 261 seats in the general election, a huge increase in their vote.

British Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corby leaves Pakeman Primary School polling station to vote in the General Election in London, United Kingdom on June 08, 2017. ( Ray Tang – Anadolu Agency )

Among others, Corbyn is calling on May to resign but senior Conservatives have said she has no intention of doing so. May is expected to try and form a government with the DUP which has 10 MPs in Northern Ireland.

May faced heavy criticism for her election campaign particularly for failing to turn up to a televised leader’s debate and sending Home Secretary Amber Rudd in her place. Her campaign was plagued by accusations that she cared little for real people.

The election campaign was darkened with two horrific terrorist attacks, one in Manchester and one in London Bridge, which brought the issues of security and policing to the country’s attention. The spotlight was on May who was revealed as having cut 20,000 police officers from our streets.

The Tory government has pledged to boost trade with Saudi Arabia despite their abominable human rights record. May has been named “Islamophobe of the Year” and “a true friend of Israel”.

May cut the number of child Syrian refugees entering the UK from 3,000 to 350.