The UK will have a general election on 8 June. Each of the 650 parliamentary constituencies will elect one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament.
The reporter of Eurasia Diary took an interview from Andrew Blick, lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History at the King's College London.
Eurasia Diary:Theresa May’s conservatives still leads in polls. From point of your view, how many seats the group of conservatives is expected to win in the UK parliament?
Andrew Blick: It is not possible to give an exact figure. However, she needs not only to win, but to win by a substantially increased majority in the House of Commons if her decision to call an early general election is to be vindicated.
Eurasia Diary: At the same time, how many seats other parties-Labor, Liberal Democrats, Scottish Nationalists, Greens and far-right forces of the UK are expected to get in British parliament?
Andrew Blick: The Greens will be happy to retain their one seat, I expect. It is unlikely that UKIP will win any seats. The SNP will continue to be the largest party in Scotland, but may lose ground to the Conservatives. Labor look set to lose seats - but the question is by how much. The Liberal Democrats would hope to gain, but it is hard to predict what precisely will happen to them.
Eurasia Diary: In your opinion, why Theresa May’s rating is so popular in the United Kingdom?
Andrew Blick: It is quite common for a Prime Minister taking up power to enjoy a honeymoon period of heightened popularity. Furthermore, people have found her to seem a reliable steady leader. She is also compared favorably to an unpopular opposition leader. But how long this popularity will last for is another matter.
Eurasia Diary: What can you say about various economic and social policy issues that leaders of conservatives and labor- Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn promise to implement?
Andrew Blick: An important question will involve not only the promises themselves, but whether the public trust that the politicians are able to deliver on them. This issue may be a problem for Corbyn.
Eurasia Diary: How do you think, if Theresa May comes to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for next term, will she continue Brexit negotiations with officials of the European Union or not?
Andrew Blick: She will continue Brexit negotiations without any doubt whatsoever. The question that will arise is whether the talks break down, and whether a satisfactory Free Trade Agreement can be obtained.
Andrew Blick is a lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History at the King's College in London.Dr. Blick is Director of History & Policy, a UK-wide initiative, led from King’s College London and the University of Cambridge, that brings together historians and policy-makers. Before his academic appointment Dr Blick had extensive experience working for think tanks, in the UK Parliament and as an administrative assistant at No.10 Downing Street.
Dr. Blick was adviser to the Welsh Government in its intervention in the landmark Supreme Court Article 50 case of 2016. From 2010-15 he was research fellow to the first ever parliamentary inquiry into the possibility of introducing a written constitution for the UK, carried out by the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee. During 2015-16 he was expert adviser to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Reform, Decentralisation and Devolution, and its inquiry into Better Devolution for the Whole UK, chaired by Lord Kerslake. He is the author of numerous pamphlets, articles and books. In 2015 he published ‘Beyond Magna Carta: a constitution for the United Kingdom’; and in 2016 ‘The Codes of the Constitution’, a study of the use of codes and manuals in the operation of the UK constitution. His next book, ‘Stretching the Constitution’, will consider the contemporary history of the UK constitution and the developing challenges to democracy.
