When British Prime Minister Theresa May called general election two months ago, confident that she would get a stronger mandate, political pundits too had predicted a landslide victory for her Conservative Party. But the result has upended all expectations. The party has not only failed to increase its seats but also to command parliamentary majority to form government. May has now sought the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, with its ten seats, to form a minority government. Interestingly, even though the Labour Party has made significant gains, it has suffered a third consecutive defeat, yet it is being seen as a winner. It is worth recalling that the centrists in the Labour had regarded the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, as a weak leader and a liability, resenting his taking the party back to its socialist roots. Still, he won two party leadership elections and has now brightened the chances of its success at the next elections, which shows all others had misread the voters mind.

May had gone for the election looking for a stronger mandate to negotiate Britain's exit from the European Union. But like most other elections anywhere else, the decisive factor turned out to be bread and butter issues. Corbyn's buoyant anti-austerity and more spending campaign and promise of restoring free university education resonated with young and old alike. The voters' response to his 'politics of the people' has surprised his critics, including the centrists in his own party. He has now asked May to step down saying "the mandate she's got is: lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence." Many others, including conservatives, are questioning her staying on at the head of a minority government.

In any event, she is likely to soon face a leadership challenge from within her party. A valuable tradition in British democracy, after which ours is supposed to be modeled, is for party a leader in such situations is to step aside rather than to cling on to office. It may be recalled that the last prime minister David Cameron had resigned for his failure to convince the voters to remain in the European Union referendum - something unthinkable to expect from a leader in this country on account of a policy fiasco. Before that, Tony Blair had led the Labour Party to three electoral victories, but after his popularity was badly damaged by the Iraq war, he handed over the leadership to Gordon Brown. Given the tradition and the pressure May is under, she is not expected to stay in the prime minister's office for long. Labour is getting ready for a fresh election that could come in a less than a year's time, according to some, even within a few months. If only the political class here too were to learn to show due respect to the people's wishes, democracy in this country would be strong and stable, unlike the present state of affairs.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017