The 2015 General Election
The 2015 General election will always be remembered as the election that forever shifted the British political scene. It saw the fall of one of the UK's largest parties and gave rise to Scottish Nationalism in the North, it also revealed that the people of the United Kingdom would to some extent back a far-right party(UKIP). The election itself was held on the 7th May and held the nation in suspense as the neck to neck polls left us with no real clear idea of who would win.
The Conservative Party- The polls just couldn't nail it, for a long while the Tories and Labour were neck and neck, but the conservatives gained the upper hand in end. Unlike the election of 2010 the Conservative Party did not need to form a coalition with another Party in order to achieve a majority in Parliament, in this election the Conservatives won 331 seats and narrowly gained the majority in parliament. This was most likely achieved by appealing to a wider audience as their manifesto managed to grab the attention of potential voters and seemed to have the best policies when it came to defence as well as the economy.
The Labour Party- The labour party seemed to have had the greater support when the polls came about , however a stark defeat in Scotland led to their downfall. There are many reasons and speculations as to why the Labour Party lost the election in 2015, one of these is the persona and character of Ed Miliband. Ed Miliband beat his brother David Miliband to become the head of the Labour Party in 2010, its from here that the problem began. Ed was renown not for his policies or memorable speeches but for his array of answers when questioned, furthermore photos emerged showing him awkwardly eating a bacon sandwich which only further damaged his figure. Many also felt that when pitted against rival David Cameron, Ed Miliband did not seem to fit the image of Prime Minister. Labours biggest downfall was its loss of almost all its seats in Scotland, this led labour to only get 1.5% more votes than they did in 2010, which in all fairness is greater than the conservative gain of 0.5%. Overall the election saw Labour lose 26 seats at the hands of the SNP.
The Scottish National Party- The Scottish National party swept over Scotland like a wave, washing out labour from all but one of its previously held constituencies. The SNP gained 50 seats in this years election, showing that although Scotland said no to its independence its people want more power for Scotland as well more Scottish say in British law. The leader of the SNP Nicola Sturgeon was over joyed with the unexpected turn out, she also was seen as a tougher figure when compared to Ed Miliband, she also saw dozens of SNP MPs take to the house of Commons. The SNP won a 50% share of the vote in Scotland, Labour won just 24.3%, these results could reveal that Scotland is not finished with its search for independence and are now seeking greater power for Scotland.
United Kingdom Independence Party- UKIP led by Nigel Farage originally came across as a far-right party only exploiting xenophobia, yet this once small party has boomed in size and support. UKIP gained close to four million votes, almost double that of the SNP, however they were still cut down to only 1 seat, and almost lost their Party leader Nigel Farage. UKIP focused on the UKs withdrawal from Europe and its tightening of the borders, however despite many supporting these policies it was not enough for them to gain a sinlge seat, even Nigel Farages seat in South Thanet was lost.
The Liberal Democrats- The Lib Dems led by Nick Clegg had the worse possible outcome when put up against the 5 major parties. First of all, every single one of its seats in Scotland was removed, just like Labour, the party had failed to appeal to the Scottish public and decisively lost a large percentage of its support. Since 2010 all previously mentioned parties have grown when it comes to the percentage of the vote, however the Liberal Democrats lost 15.2% of its voters, this dramatic loss lead to the Liberal Democrats only receiving 7.9% of the vote, which is less than UKIP. These poor results caused Nick Clegg to step down as the Lib Dem leader as the parties survival hangs by a thread.
The Labour Party- The labour party seemed to have had the greater support when the polls came about , however a stark defeat in Scotland led to their downfall. There are many reasons and speculations as to why the Labour Party lost the election in 2015, one of these is the persona and character of Ed Miliband. Ed Miliband beat his brother David Miliband to become the head of the Labour Party in 2010, its from here that the problem began. Ed was renown not for his policies or memorable speeches but for his array of answers when questioned, furthermore photos emerged showing him awkwardly eating a bacon sandwich which only further damaged his figure. Many also felt that when pitted against rival David Cameron, Ed Miliband did not seem to fit the image of Prime Minister. Labours biggest downfall was its loss of almost all its seats in Scotland, this led labour to only get 1.5% more votes than they did in 2010, which in all fairness is greater than the conservative gain of 0.5%. Overall the election saw Labour lose 26 seats at the hands of the SNP.
The Scottish National Party- The Scottish National party swept over Scotland like a wave, washing out labour from all but one of its previously held constituencies. The SNP gained 50 seats in this years election, showing that although Scotland said no to its independence its people want more power for Scotland as well more Scottish say in British law. The leader of the SNP Nicola Sturgeon was over joyed with the unexpected turn out, she also was seen as a tougher figure when compared to Ed Miliband, she also saw dozens of SNP MPs take to the house of Commons. The SNP won a 50% share of the vote in Scotland, Labour won just 24.3%, these results could reveal that Scotland is not finished with its search for independence and are now seeking greater power for Scotland.
United Kingdom Independence Party- UKIP led by Nigel Farage originally came across as a far-right party only exploiting xenophobia, yet this once small party has boomed in size and support. UKIP gained close to four million votes, almost double that of the SNP, however they were still cut down to only 1 seat, and almost lost their Party leader Nigel Farage. UKIP focused on the UKs withdrawal from Europe and its tightening of the borders, however despite many supporting these policies it was not enough for them to gain a sinlge seat, even Nigel Farages seat in South Thanet was lost.
The Liberal Democrats- The Lib Dems led by Nick Clegg had the worse possible outcome when put up against the 5 major parties. First of all, every single one of its seats in Scotland was removed, just like Labour, the party had failed to appeal to the Scottish public and decisively lost a large percentage of its support. Since 2010 all previously mentioned parties have grown when it comes to the percentage of the vote, however the Liberal Democrats lost 15.2% of its voters, this dramatic loss lead to the Liberal Democrats only receiving 7.9% of the vote, which is less than UKIP. These poor results caused Nick Clegg to step down as the Lib Dem leader as the parties survival hangs by a thread.
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