Scotland: Long-awaited results

The British voted on Thursday in local elections crucial to the future of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Scotland, where separatists expect a clear victory paving the way for a new self-determination referendum.

The offices closed at 9 pm GMT, marking the start of the count, which, however, promised to stay longer due to restrictions related to the epidemic. Results are expected very slowly only on Fridays and throughout the weekend.

The vote, which was held in England, Scotland and Wales on Thursday, was described as “one year after being postponed due to a health crisis.” Super thursday “(” Super Thursday “), since 1973 is the most important on the local scene.

Potentially decisive for the future of the United Kingdom according to the score achieved by the Scottish separatists, it was also the first electoral examination for Boris Johnson with the promise of achieving Brexit since his stunning victory in the 2019 legislative elections, now Applicable.

“It’s a very big day,” the leader said in a video posted on Twitter on Thursday, calling on the British to vote against the opposition to their Conservative Party, which is only “playing a political game”, he said . .

Conservative change

The most expected first results to be investigated, on Friday morning, are those from Hartlepool. This could turn into a conservative camp, with the election of a new MP, following the resignation of an outgoing elected official accused of sexual harassment, a pro-Brexit stronghold in Labor and the north-east of England.

This would be a new snub for Labor, after the Labor “Red Wall” took over by the Tories in 2019, these regions were affected by the industrialization of the North of England. And a failure for Keer Starr, the leader of the opposition’s formation: The party was running shoulder-to-shoulder in elections for the first time as they led after a historic defeat in legislative elections in April 2020.

“Whatever the outcome, I will take responsibility for it,” he said on Wednesday.

Building on the success of the vaccination campaign against Coronavirus, Boris Johnson remains in the polls despite numerous scandals, including financing the renovation of his official apartment and a very heavy epidemic toll – over 127,500 dead.

“Razor wire”

For Scotland, it would be necessary to wait until Saturday evening to at least know the distribution of seats in the renewed local parliament.

If separatists gain a majority in power, the head of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, intends to exert pressure on the London government to be able to hold a new independence referendum.

But Boris Johnson strongly opposed this, stating that the Scots had already chosen 55% to live in the UK in 2014. “Now is not the time to hold a referendum […] Irresponsible, ”he said on Wednesday.

Supporters of a new referendum say that Brexit, which the Scots opposed 62%, was a game-changer.

After months of elections promising a majority in favor of the SNP’s growth and independence, the party may be disenchanted, with recent surveys showing less optimism.

Nicola Sturgeon admitted on Twitter, “It is actually played on the edge of a razor whose party can be forced to govern as a coalition.”

Some fear the permanent devastating effects of the epidemic on the Scottish economy, such as 64-year-old Alec Telfer, president of the Blackface Sheep Breeders Association, who is already financially affected by Brexit. “We need strength in unity and start new front” […]”It would be crazy,” he told AFP.

Postponed for a year due to the epidemic, these elections allowed 48 million voters to renew some 5,000 seats in 143 local assemblies in England, the capital London as well as thirteen mayors, including the Welsh and Scottish parliaments.

In London, five years after becoming the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital, Labor Sadiq Khan has been awarded the winner for a second term against Tory Sean Bailey.

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