General Election 2017. Danny Lawson/PA Images. All rights reserved.The Cameron (remember him?) government arranged to hold a referendum on membership in the European Union in June 2016, and the May government scheduled a general election in June 2017. The former caused the latter and the Prime Minister would have voters believe that the latter is overwhelmingly about the former, which it is not.
Making negotiations with the European Union (aka Brexit) the central issue for the June election is key to the political strategy of the Conservative Party. The same holds for the Scottish National Party, whose astute leader is using Scotland’s relationship with Europe as the vehicle by which to revive and re-run the independence referendum that failed in 2014 by 44 to 55%.
Essential to convincing the UK public that the so-called divorce negotiations are the election’s central issue is to portray those negotiations as extremely complex and fraught with economic danger. Given this complexity and associated dangers, the nation requires a strong leader supported by a large parliamentary majority. The Conservative Party, we are repeatedly told, provides the leader we need in these perilous times. Our Prime Minister and her party stand in bold contrast to the bumbling, chaotic Labour Party and its bicycle riding leader.
