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Theresa May to Remain PM After UK General Elections Result in Hung Parliament

June 8, 2017
Britain’s Primer Minister Theresa May leaves Downing Street with her husband on the way to Buckingham Palace after Britain’s election in London, Britain June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

General elections held in the United Kingdom (UK) on Thursday has resulted in a hung parliament, meaning that no single party managed to secure the overall majority in the House of Commons.

Current Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the conservative party remains in her post as she is forming a minority government with the help of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Prior to the elections, May’s Conservative party held 330 seats; it was rather challenging for May and her party to pass major legislation with such a narrow majority.

As a parliamentary system, the UK’s government is formed by the party that holds the majority of seats in the parliament. Given that the elections led to a hung parliament, failing to form a majority government as the Conservatives secured 318 seats and the Labour Party secured 261, the UK is now left with the minority government option.

With the Brexit talks set to be held on 19 June, EU leaders predicted that it may be possible that the UK will demand a delay from the European Union as the formation of a government can possibly take a while following the results of the general elections.

British voters headed to the polls after May had called for general elections in April. The elections weren’t encouraged by May at first as she insisted on waiting for the official election in 2020; it was deemed as a destabilizer for the country by several parties. However, she unpredictably called for early elections in April as she was almost positive that her part would win the vast majority. However, and according to national polls, the opposition Labour party, headed by Jeremy Corbyn, which was down by 18 points at the time, was behind by a little under eight points in the latest national polls.

However, she unpredictably called for early elections in April as she was almost positive that her part would win the vast majority. However, the general elections have failed the conservatives and took away her majority in the government, forcing her to collaborate with DUP.

There are 650 seats in the British House of Commons, whichever party that wins the majority of seats gets to choose the Prime Minister. To form the majority in the House of Commons, one party must, at least, secure 326 seats.

May, who is the second female Prime Minister for the UK after Margaret Thatcher, didn’t win elections in 2016. However, she held the position of the Prime Minister after her predecessor, David Cameron had stepped down in light of Brexit voting.

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