Last week -- on July 4th, of all days -- Britons went to the polls and tossed out the Conservative government, as expected. After wielding control for 14 years, the Tories had grown profoundly dysfunctional, politically sclerotic, and ideologically lost. They were ferociously opposed by the Left, of course, but ordinary voters had grown weary of their drama and failures, and their own base was irate over a prevailing sense of betrayal. That is a toxic combination, especially under the UK's parliamentary system. The resulting electoral verdict was a rout of historic proportions, with the Labour Party sweeping into power, earning one of the largest majorities ever. On the surface, it was an extremely bleak night for the Right, but there were also several prominent red flags lurking in the results for the new leftist government. Polling had expected a much higher overall vote share for Labour, and some suggested the Conservatives could be demolished so badly that they'd hold only dozens of seats when all was said and done -- well short of 100 (out of 650 in the House of Commons).
The UK Election Was a Bloodbath for the 'Conservatives,' but There Are Red Flags for the Left, Too
