The Battle of Brexit. Analysis of the 2019 United Kingdom General Election Results

The article presents the main parties (i.e. the Conservative Party, Labor Party, Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party) results of the 2019 UK general election as well as an analysis of the most important issues (i.e. correct identification of voters’ expectations, simplicity and clarity of the messages, leaders’ personalities) which determined each party success or loss. The author proves that since Brexit was the primary focus of voters, the level of support for particular parties remained dependent on the solutions presented in this issue. This basis explains why the Conservatives in the whole UK and the SNP in Scotland won (and the Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats lost) the battle of Brexit.

REFERENCES:

• BBC News. (2019a). Election 2019: How significant is immigration to the UK?. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50658968.
• BBC News. (2019b). General election 2019: A simple guide to the Liberal Democrats. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50343417.
• BBC News. (2019c). Liberal Democrat manifesto 2019: 12 key policies explained. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50459123.
• BBC News. (2019d). SNP manifesto 2019: key policies explained. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50561073.
• Becker, S.O., Fetzer, T., Novy, D. (2017). “Who voted for Brexit? A comprehensive district-level analysis”. Economic Policy, 32, 601-650. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/epolic/eix012.
• Channel4. (2012). Boris Johnson: classic Tory or political maverick?. Retrieved from: https://www.channel4.com/news/borish-johnson-classic-tory-or-political-maverick.
• Edwards, G., Isaby, J. (2008). Boris v. Ken: How Boris Johnson Won London. London: Politico’s Publishing.
• Ipsos MORI. (2019a). Jeremy Corbyn has lowest leadership satisfaction rating for any opposition leader since 1977. Retrieved from: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/jeremy-corbyn-has-lowestleadership-satisfaction-rating-any-opposition-leader-1977.
• Ipsos MORI. (2019b). Political Monitor. September 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2019-09/september-2019-pm-charts.pdf.
• Jenkins, S. (2019, December 16). “The Lib Dems helped the Tories to victory again. Now they should disband”. The Guardian.
• Liberal Democrats. (2019). Stop Brexit. Build a Brighter Future. Liberal Democrats Manifesto 2019, Basildon: Liberal Democrats.
• Mason, R. (2019, December 13). “Five reasons the Tories won the election”. The Guardian.
• Proctor, K. (2019, December 13). “Five reasons why Labor lost the election”. The Guardian.
• The Conservative and Unionist Party. (2019). Get Brexit Done: Unleash Britain’s Potential. The Conservative and Unionist Party Manifesto 2019. London: the Conservative and Unionist Party.
• The Labor Party. (2019). It’s Time for Real Change. The Labor Party Manifesto 2019. London: the Labor Party.
• The New York Times. (2016). Luck Runs Out for a Leader of ‘Brexit’ Campaign. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/world/europe/boris-johnson-brexit-conservatives.html.
• The Scottish National Party. (2019). Stronger for Scotland. Manifesto 2019. Glasgow: the Scottish National Party.
• The Scottish Parliament. (2019). How Scotland voted: UK General Election 2019. Retrieved from: https://spice-spotlight.scot/2019/12/13/how-scotland-voted-uk-general-election-2019.
• The Telegraph. (2019). SNP manifesto 2019: key policies, at a glance. Retrieved from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/manifesto-scottish-national-party-snp-2019-election
• The Times. (2017). Abbot declared support for British defeat in Northern Ireland. Retrieved from:
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/election-2017/abbott-declared-support-for-ira-defeat-of-britainrp79dvvmk.
• Uberoi, E. (2016). European Union Referendum 2016. London: House of Commons Library.
• Uberoi, E., et al. (2020). General Election 2019: results and analysis. London: House of Commons Library.
• YouGov. (2019a). How Britain voted in the 2019 general election. Retrieved from: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/12/17/how-britain-voted-2019-general-election.
• YouGov. (2019b). Which issues will decide the general election. Retrieved from: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/11/07/which-issues-will-decide-general-election.