Security is high as Britons vote in election overshadowed by terror
Print Edition
BRITONS streamed to the polls for the third time in two years yesterday after an election campaign overshadowed by terror attacks and the uncertainty of Brexit.
Prime Minister Theresa May called the vote in April, when opinion poll ratings for her and her Conservative party were sky high, presenting herself as the strong leader to steer the country through negotiations to leave the European Union.
Although likely to keep her job, Islamist attacks in London and Manchester have put her under pressure over her six years as home secretary, while campaign missteps have dented her reputation as a safe pair of hands.
Labour opponent Jeremy Corbyn, an anti-war campaigner, has run an energetic campaign, promising change and an end to austerity.
Security was high as millions cast their votes in polling stations ranging from schools and public buildings to churches, pubs and even a windmill and a launderette.
Final results will not start to emerge until early today.
Polling experts — many of whom failed to predict the vote to leave the EU last year — are wary of calling the outcome.
Predictions of May’s expected margin of victory vary widely, and one shock forecast even sats she could lose her majority of 17 in the 650-seat House of Commons.
While May has been touring the country, delivering slogan-heavy speeches to small groups of hand-picked activists, Corbyn has drawn large crowds to open-air rallies.
The 60-year-old vicar’s daughter has presented herself as uniquely qualified for the Brexit talks and said her 68-year-old rival would be “alone and naked in the negotiating chamber.” “Get those negotiations wrong and the consequences will be dire,” she said on a final campaign stop on Wednesday.
Corbyn, a veteran socialist who defied the odds to win the Labour leadership two years ago, urged supporters in Glasgow to think big on his last day of campaigning.
“Wouldn’t it be great if on Friday we woke up to ... a Labour government that will be a government for all of our communities across the whole of the country,” he said.
It is the third time Britons have been called to vote since 2015, twice for a general election and once for the EU referendum, and voter fatigue appeared to be an issue among some. “I have little confidence in anybody,” said Simon Bolton, 41, in east London. “I think we lack quality in terms of who we can choose, it is very limited.”
The election is May’s first since taking office after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the EU following four decades of membership.
“I want another five years of stability, and a stronger hand in Brexit negotiations,” said Dave, 29, in the London neighborhood of Hackney.
“The main issue for me is getting along with Brexit,” added Fabrizio, 42, in the wealthy London district of South Kensington.
But the Conservative government’s record on cutting funding for health and education has also featured strongly in the campaign, to the benefit of Labour.
The Conservatives were also damaged by a manifesto plan for elderly care that would see some pay more.
“The cuts that have been happening, the austerity on education and the National Health Service, it weighs on my vote,” said Saskia Green 39, a voter in north London.
The campaign was hit by a suicide bombing at a Manchester concert on May 22, which killed 22 people including seven children, followed by Saturday’s knife and van attack in central London, which left eight people dead.
Campaigning was twice suspended in the aftermath of the attacks, which May blamed on “evil” Islamist ideology.
The Conservatives are traditionally strong on defense and security, and have sought to exploit Corbyn’s anti-nuclear stance and his alleged past support for Irish paramilitaries.
But May also faced uncomfortable questions over cuts to police numbers during her time as home secretary.
Security on election day was reviewed following the London attack, with the city’s Metropolitan Police force implementing a “specialist and highly flexible operation.”
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