Britons are ever more polarised between no-deal and a second referendum
A new Conservative leader may find compromise impossible
EUROPEAN ELECTIONS are rum affairs, but the latest were stranger than ever. On May 23rd voters went to the polls in elections nobody wanted, as Brexit was meant to happen in March. As expected, Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party stormed into first place, with 32% of the vote and 29 seats. It was a striking result for a party set up only in February, and was five points better than Mr Farage achieved as leader of the UK Independence Party in 2014. Adding in the rump UKIP vote makes the total for parties backing a no-deal Brexit 35%, a big number but less impressive when turnout, though higher than in 2014, was only 37%.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Centre aground”
Britain June 1st 2019
- Britons are ever more polarised between no-deal and a second referendum
- Can the Brexit Party gain a foothold in Westminster?
- A long-awaited report proposes overhauling higher education
- The (mostly) men who will pick Britain’s next prime minister
- British planners are sending cars into towns
- The travails of a town trying to tempt traffic
- Jeremy Corbyn is increasingly isolated in his own party
From the June 1st 2019 edition
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