May's Snap Election Gamble Backfires

UK Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble to call a snap election has backfired. Jeremy Corbyn has defied both his critics and his polls with Labour experiencing a surge that has restored the party as a serious electoral force. That has proven humiliating for Theresa May who has been facing calls to resign. Such a result wasn't in the script with May expected to cruise to a comfortable victory in the election, securing a mandate to negotiate the UK's exit from the European Union.

She has resisted calls to step down and is seeking to form a government despite losing her Commons majority. She wants to stay in office under the understanding that the Democratic Unionist Party supports her minority administration. Her party are eight seats short of the 326 needed for a majority and partnering with the DUP would mean both parties have a combined 329 seats. One of the main reasons for the result was the strong turnout among younger people who cast their votes for Labour, something which was not expected to occur.