‘Brexit closure’ – Johnson Wins Commanding Victory In UK Election

Johnson’s Conservatives increased their share of the vote to 43.6%, their highest since Thatcher’s first election victory in 1979, and higher than Blair’s in any of his three election wins.

“GET BREXIT DONE”

Brexit is far from over. After Jan. 31, Britain will enter a transition period when it will negotiate a new relationship with the remaining 27 EU states. The outcome of those talks will shape the future of its $2.7 trillion economy.

The transition period can run until the end of December 2022 under the current rules, but the Conservatives made an election promise not to extend it beyond the end of 2020.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said many within the EU were relieved that Britain would now have a parliament with a clear majority, highlighting the frustration that European leaders have felt during three years of political logjam in London.

But she said it would be “very complicated” to complete the talks on a new relationship by December 2020.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Britain that the more it chose to deregulate its economy after Brexit, the more it would lose access to the EU’s single market.

President Donald Trump congratulated Johnson and said a U.S. trade deal could be more lucrative than any with the EU, the world’s biggest trading bloc. “Celebrate Boris!” Trump said on Twitter.

The Brexit issue has eroded traditional party loyalties in Britain, creating new faultlines of urban vs rural, young vs old, and graduates vs non-graduates.

The Brexit effect was most starkly illustrated by the crumbling of Labour’s “Red Wall”, a rampart of working class areas across northern and central England where most people had voted “Leave” in 2016.

Frustrated at the country’s failure to quit the EU since then, and at Labour’s equivocal stance on Brexit, large numbers of voters deserted the party and flocked to the Conservatives, leaving the Red Wall full of holes.

David Hughes, 48, was won over by Johnson’s “Get Brexit done” mantra and backed the Conservatives after previously voting Labour.