Conservatives win UK election, commit to leave the EU in January

The Conservative Party clearly won the United Kingdom General Election on December 12.

Boris Johnson will be Prime Minister with a new majority in the Westminster Parliament.

With 364 seats (+66), the Tories celebrated the success of their campaign message about “getting Brexit done”. The party earned the best result since Margaret Thatcher’s third term victory in 1987.

“The people want change. We cannot and we must not let them down”, Johnson said. “We will get Brexit done on time by 31 January - no ifs, no buts, not maybe”, he added. The Conservatives will now have a majority that paves the way to end the debate about a second referendum.

A European Union spokesperson called the Brexit deal to be put to a vote in the UK parliament “as soon as possible (…) The EU, we are ready”, he added.

The other big winner of the night was the Scottish National Party (a clearly pro-EU and pro-independence). The party won 48 of the 59 Scottish constituencies and became the third largest party. Analysts believe this will lead to an increased political tension between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

HIGHEST NUMBER OF WOMEN ELECTED

The turnout was 67.3% and it was the election in which most women have been elected in history – 219 of 650.

The Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, suffered a defeat that made them lose 42 seats. Their manifesto had called to introduce “radical” changes in the country. Despite earning more votes, the Liberal Democrats lost one seat, coming fourth with 11 representatives.

EVANGELICALS: HOPE AND UNITY

Evangelicals in the United Kingdom reacted to the results calling churches to be an example of hope and unity as the country get.

“I am hopeful for the future of the United Kingdom as we head into 2020”, said the CEO of the United Kingdom Evangelical Alliance, Gavin Calver. “Not because one party has won and another has lost, but because we believe in a God who is powerful”.

“The last few years have exposed deep divisions in our society, and this election campaign has exacerbated these rather than healing them. The task before us all, politicians and public alike, is to work together in our communities and across our nations”.

Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance United Kingdom.

The “passion for unity”, Calver said, “is one vital way the church can serve the nation in the months and years ahead”. “Psalm 133 says: ‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity’, as the church we must model this, as we come together across ages, races and classes, when men and women stand and work together as one”.

If Christians “show that issues of Brexit and public services, of taxation and spending do not divide our churches, we can be a witness to reconciliation for our communities”.

Referring to Christmas, the head of the EAUK underlined that “Jesus could reconcile us in a way we never could ourselves. He is the one who we look to for leadership, we put our faith in Jesus and never in political leaders”.

The statement closed by saying the EAUK would be “praying for Boris Johnson as he returns to Downing Street (...) This weekend take time to pray for our political leaders and our nation as we also look towards Christmas and celebrate the birth of Christ”.

The Evangelical Alliance also encourages churches to invite their MP to join them for a Sunday worship service and continue to offer ways in which evangelicals can serve the community.