After much anticipation and uncertainty (and a late night for politics students like myself!) the results of the 2015 UK General Election are here. The Conservatives have achieved an overall majority gaining 331 seats, meaning that David Cameron will carry out a second term as Prime Minister. This comes as a shock to many who thought that a hung parliament leading to another coalition was almost inevitable, as poll popularity for smaller parities such as the SNP and the Green Party had increased.
Here in Aberdeen the SNP won both the North and South seats, and overall the party had a mass victory in Scotland gaining 56/59 seats. This is a historic change for the country which tends to be Labour led. Post-2015 election however, they now only have one seat, an unfortunate position that both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats also find themselves in. It will be very interesting to see how an SNP led Scotland will fare against a Conservative majority as they are two very contrasting parties in both policy and popularity in Scotland.
Another positive that can be drawn from an altogether change-filled election is the high voter turnout. Turnout at this general election was 66.1% which compares with 65.1% in 2010. However, the voter turnout was particularly high and particularly impressive here in Scotland where it reached 71.1%. This could largely be down to Scotland’s renewed interest in politics post-referendum and from whichever political camp you are part of can be seen as a huge positive and one that is hoped will be replicated again in next year’s Scottish Parliament election.
The election overall also showed great results for women. There was an overall increase in the number of women MPs in all the main parties;1/3 MPs are now female! Women have played a significant role in the election from the start, with the SNP, Green Party and Plaid Cymru all being led by women.
Overall, the election results have shocked many of us as well as showed historical changes for both women and Scottish politics. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 5 years- and hopefully in next year’s Scottish Parliament election we will see even more progress for female politicians!
Hopefully this is a figure which continues to rise even more and with the resignations of Ed Milliband, Nigel Farage and Nick Clegg there’s also the possibility of another female party leader on the horizon. Nearly 100 years after women were first given the right to simply vote, these figures are great progress- fantastic news for us gals.
Were you happy with the outcome? HCXO