Security in mind as UK votes in wake of terror attacks

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

Britons head for the polls Thursday in a general election that has seen the focus switch to security in the wake of terror attacks in Manchester and London.

When Prime Minister Theresa May called a surprise election in April -- three years ahead of schedule -- the campaign seemed certain to focus on the U.K.’s upcoming talks to leave the EU.

May billed the election as a clear choice on who would lead Britain as it negotiated its way out of the union. She sought to increase her Conservative Party’s 17-seat majority to strengthen the government’s mandate following a divisive Brexit referendum last year.

However, two terrorist attacks in Manchester and London that left 30 people dead in the weeks leading up to the vote shifting the emphasis to security, with police cuts during May’s six years as home secretary seeming to erode her lead in the polls.

Opinion polls still favor a Conservative victory but the previously predicted landslide of more than 100 seats has vanished. The most recent polls put the Conservative lead at between 1 and 12 percentage points.

The gap between the Conservatives and the Labour Party led by veteran left-winger Jeremy Corbyn began to narrow after May announced a policy on elderly care that proved unpopular.

Her subsequent reversal on the policy undermined her boast that she would provide “strong and stable” leadership, as did her refusal to take part in a TV debate with other party leaders.

This was compounded by the terror attacks on May 22 and June 5 that led analysts to look at the loss of 20,000 police officers during May’s term as home secretary between 2010 and 2016.

Labour has pledged an extra 10,000 police officers. However, Corbyn has found it tough to exploit the “law and order” issue, largely due to his record as a backbencher, when he often voted against anti-terror legislation and shared platforms with perceived terrorism supporters.

On Wednesday, May attempted to concentrate on Brexit, arguing that only she could deliver a favorable Brexit deal.

Negotiations on the U.K.’s departure from the EU begin on June 19 and May has promised to be tough with EU partners during talks. “No deal is better than a bad deal” was her mantra during the election campaign.

49 million voters

Corbyn proposes a more consensual approach to the talks.

Linked to Brexit is the future of the U.K. itself, with Scotland and Northern Ireland having voted to remain in the EU in last year’s referendum.

Their devolved governments have demanded to be included in Brexit talks -- demands rejected by May, who has insisted the Westminster government will negotiate for the whole country.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who leads the Scottish National Party (SNP), has promised a second independence referendum for Scotland within two years.

In Northern Ireland, the future of the status of the land border with the Republic of Ireland is a vital issue. Businesses both sides of the frontier fear they will be hurt if full border controls are imposed after Brexit.

There are almost 49 million registered voters able to vote in 650 constituencies, each returning a member to the House of Commons.

To form a majority, a party must win at least 326 seats. The leader of the largest party will then be asked by the queen, as the head of state, to form a government.

Around 2.3 million new voters applied for registration by May 22, according to the Electoral Commission. The number of registered voters for last year’s referendum was just over 45 million.

Voters will be able to cast their votes at around 50,000 poll stations across the country.

Aside from the Conservatives and Labour, most voters will be able to choose from parties such as the Liberal Democrats, who formed a coalition government with the Conservatives in 2010, the Green Party and the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party, as well as a host of independents and smaller parties.

In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, voters have a choice of parties unique to those countries, such as the SNP in Scotland and the nationalist Plaid Cymru in Wales.