Analyst warns UK election may result in hung parliament

(30 Oct 2019) A political analyst on Wednesday said that Britain's upcoming early election could result in a hung Parliament, which could make the divorce deal "as difficult to resolve as it is now."

Anand Menon also, however, stressed that the UK was undergoing volatile political times, which increased the potential for "unexpected" results, saying that "no one with any sense" would "bet on the outcome" at this stage.

The Director of UK in Changing Europe made the comments a day after a bill authorizing the vote was passed by the House of Commons.

Lawmakers voted 438-20 in favour of the bill to give UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson the early election he craves.

But they will be heading out to vote in the short and dark days of December and there is, despite the polls showing the Tories ahead, uncertainly over who could win the vote.

Menon said amid uncertainty in the British electorate, the timing of the early election could play a major role too.

"We are not sure about turn out in December, is the weather going to be cold, will people turn out in the dark to vote, in Scotland it is getting dark at 2 o'clock in the far North, will people go out in the sleet and in the dark?"

If it is Conservatives who win the election, Menon, said this could mean an easy transition to Brexit.

But according to Menon the "polls are all over the place," and a Labour win or a hung Parliament could mean the path to a Brexit deal could become convoluted.

The looming vote comes two and a half years before the next scheduled election, due in 2022, and will be the country's first December election since 1923.



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