British Prime Minister Theresa May’s call for a snap poll has boomeranged on her. May remains Prime Minister but her Conservative Party has got a much reduced mandate-only 318 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons. Labour under Jeremy Corbyn has much strengthened its position. May’s calculation that a greater Conservative majority in Parliament will strengthen her hand at the Brexit negotiations has proved wrong. The snap poll represents the second disastrous election called by a Tory Prime Minister in two years. Analysts will look for the reasons for the Conservative debacle. But there is no doubt that Brexit has no buyers in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Conservative will certainly cobble together a coalition government but May will no longer be in a position to pitch hard for Brexit which was the main plank of her election campaign. The British voters were concerned about a lower public spending which would have resulted from a hard Brexit.

There appears to be a consensus that the UK cannot completely divorce itself from the EU. That will complicate negotiations for triggering Article 50. Globalization is very much in its stride in Europe with Holland and France voting against isolation. The British want a more temperate approach to issues such as migration and trade. Young people voted in strength in the British elections, prompted by their interest in job opportunities abroad. They were naturally against Brexit. India will be naturally interested in the consequences of the results of the British election. The opportunities for Indian students to study in the UK will be widened.