UK elections: Cameron stays put after game changing vote

Is the victory for the Conservatives under the leadership of David Cameron really as much of a surprise as it has been made out to be? Can the UK election result be justly called a game changer? And shouldn't it be called exactly that particularly when it has forced the resignation of three Opposition leaders? 

In reality, the day the Labour Party chose Ed Miliband as their leader, the writing was on the wall. And so for many who had been following the UK election closely, the outcome is not unusual, though certainly the margin of victory is. Very much like in India, it seems people in the UK are tired of a fractured verdict, and would prefer a strong right wing government that makes the economy grow, even while pushing it along the path of austerity. 

But pundits are especially taken aback by the latter development, because the perception, by and large, is that the UK is a welfare state where people are used to large doses of government expenditure, and would prefer soft socialism. 

Even if that were true, which it patently is not, there were two reasons turning the country blue. 

Firstly, there was a fear, particularly in England, that in case Labour did not get a majority, the Scottish National Party would dominate in a coalition. And secondly, as pointed out by economists and political observers like Meghnad Desai, when the economy is recovering under the chancellor, George Osborne, it might have been far too early to rock the boat. The message, both on the economy and on Scotland, had been reiterated by the Tory media team and the Prime Minister often enough during the campaign. Definitely the message reached the voters clearly. 

Despite everything, Labour could have still snatched victory from the jaws of defeat had they a better leader, who could have articulated a clear policy and vision. Unfortunately, this defeat is being compared to that under another Labour leader, Neil Kinnock, and for almost the same reasons. 

The problem also lay in a confused communication strategy:  people were not very certain about where Labour stood exactly on multitude of issues, nor did they quite trust Miliband or his close connections to the trade unions. A lurch to the left was being dreaded by the corporates as, once again, it could impact the recovery. 

Of course, the big Labour losses in Scotland also contributed to its resounding defeat. And some of the defeats, such as that of Danny Alexander to a 20-year-old SNP candidate must have been extremely humiliating. Another humbling moment was when Ed Balls, who could have been Chancellor in a Labour government, lost. This only increased the pressure on Ed Miliband to quit. Nick Clegg, the leader of the Lib Dems and the great hope of the last elections, has also quit because he has presided over the decimation of his party from 45 to 8. Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader who had been projected as a serious threat to the Tories, has already resigned.  Thankfully, he did not even win the seat he was contesting. 

Where does this leave the UK now? With two main parties dominating, one in England and one in Scotland, people are worried about the 'United' Kingdom. Similarly, given the promise by David Cameron that there will be a referendum in two years time on the European Union, there is a question mark on whether the country will remain within the EU. 

Lastly, while David Cameron has won a clear majority, it is still wafer thin, and he is open to back bench revolts. He also faces possible dissension from Boris Johnson, one of the new MPs, who could be a challenger at any stage. 

Luckily, Cameron had already announced that he is not interested in a third term, and so that will give his rivals five years to prepare for a clean take over, and not a palace coup. 

But this was also an election where British Asians played a huge role: 59 of them were standing for elections. And it's a very proud moment that quite a few have won, including some young and outstanding candidates like Rishi Sunak, who is also the son-in-law of Narayan Murthy, co founder, Infosys. 

Yes, undoubtedly, this election has been a game changer in many ways.