Life after brexit for Boris Johnson’s Britain

Acknowledging the responsibility that comes with such a massive mandate, Johnson has spoken about national healing.

The landslide victory in snap national elections secured by the Boris Johnson-led Conservative Party indicates voter fatigue with parliamentary hurdles to Brexit, Britain’s divorce with the European Union. That large parts of the UK’s northeast and northwest flipped and voted for the Tories this time shows how the country wants to move ahead and not stay trapped to its divisive past.

Acknowledging the responsibility that comes with such a massive mandate, Johnson has spoken about national healing. While his brand of politics has been right-of-centre, he may want to take a more centrist line now to reflect the aspirations of the large sections of Labour voters who switched sides. Further, he had in the past taken a sharp position on Islamic terror and criticised the burqa, leading to allegations of Islamophobia. With the UK constantly facing threats of lone-wolf IS attacks, whether the British PM will nuance his position remains to be seen.

The polls also threw up the biggest chunk of Indian-origin MPs ever with 15 candidates, including seven each from the Tories and Labour, making it to the House of Commons. The impact of an Indian-origin pressure group on Labour votes since the party took a hard line on J&K’s reorganisation is yet to be fully understood. However, Johnson recently visiting a Swaminarayan temple with his partner, who wore a sari, and recalling his good vibes with Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have had an impact on the voters.
Johnson now has the task of wrapping up Brexit by next month and doing standalone trade deals with the EU and other big nations like the US, China and India.

The elections, while giving the Tories a huge mandate, kindled the demand for a second independence referendum in Scotland as the Scottish National Party swept the polls, and complicated the situation in North Ireland as it elected more nationalists. Both Scotland and North Ireland are bitterly against Brexit as the 2016 referendum showed. How Johnson deals with them could well define his legacy.