Editorial | Britain pins hopes on general election to finally resolve Brexit
- However, there are no guarantees that rare winter poll will deliver desired result with country’s two biggest parties fearing another hung parliament
The need to break the parliamentary deadlock over Britain’s departure from the European Union has been evident for a long time. Now, a general election offers hope that the vexed question of Brexit will finally be resolved. But there are no guarantees. The outcome of the poll on December 12 is impossible to predict. It may result in another hung parliament that is deeply divided over Brexit.
Johnson’s Conservative Party is ahead in the opinion polls, but that might not mean much. The lead is not as big as the one enjoyed by his predecessor, Theresa May, ahead of her snap election in 2017. And when polling day came, she lost her majority. This time, Brexit is likely to play on voters’ minds even more than it did in 2017. The country is fairly equally split between those who want to leave the EU and those who prefer to remain. This means the traditional loyalty of voters to one or another of the big parties is less important. The Conservative and Labour parties are both divided on Brexit.
Johnson is pinning his hopes on a populist stance. He is styling the election as “the people vs parliament”, arguing that he wants to get Brexit done but has been frustrated by opposing MPs. This is a simple message likely to play well with voters fed up with the tortuous Brexit process. The Labour Party, meanwhile, is offering a new deal with the EU followed by a fresh referendum. This “let the people decide” approach is an attempt to appeal to both sides of the Brexit divide. But it is not a clear message and Labour, led by the deeply unpopular Jeremy Corbyn, will be hoping to focus attention away from Brexit onto its promised radical plans for national rejuvenation.
The Scottish National Party supports a new referendum on Brexit – and also one on Scottish Independence. The Liberal Democrats have nailed their colours to the “remain” mast, pledging to keep Britain in the EU. And the Brexit Party under Nigel Farage is campaigning for a “clean break” with the EU. They will all be hoping to draw votes away from the two biggest parties. No one can tell how this will all play out.
There is a need for Brexit to be resolved. It is to be hoped that the election will achieve this, one way or another, by returning a parliament that can agree on the taking of decisive action.