British Prime Minister Johnson Predicted To Win Majority

Algemeiner

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party will win a majority of 86 seats in Britain’s election, giving him the numbers in parliament he needs to deliver Brexit on Jan. 31, an exit poll indicated on Thursday.

The exit poll showed Johnson’s Conservatives would win 368 seats, enough for a comfortable outright majority in the 650-seat parliament. Labour were forecast to win 191 seats, the Scottish National Party 55 seats and the Liberal Democrats 13.

Official results will be declared over the next seven hours.

In the last five national elections, only one exit poll has got the outcome wrong – in 2015 when the poll predicted a hung parliament when in fact the Conservatives won a majority, taking 14 more seats than forecast.

If Johnson’s bet on a snap election has paid off, he will move swiftly to ratify the Brexit deal he struck with the European Union so that the United Kingdom can leave on Jan. 31 – 10 months later than initially planned.

Johnson called the first Christmas election since 1923 to break what he said was the paralysis of Britain’s political system after more than three years of crisis over how, when or even if to leave the European Union.

The face of the “Leave” campaign in the 2016 referendum, 55-year-old Johnson fought the election under the slogan of “Get Brexit Done,” promising to end the deadlock and spend more on health, education and the police.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the sandal plagued Labour party, has been roiled by claims of anti-Semitism in his ranks and his association with anti-Israel terrorists and causes.

In contrast, Johnson has been a staunch supporter of Israel and has been a familiar face in the Jewish community in England.