Following a U.K. election upset, Queen Elizabeth has granted Prime Minister Theresa May permission to form a new coalition government. Many thought she wouldn't succeed, some called for her to resign in light of the election results.
May called for a "snap election" in April, in hopes of increasing the Conservatives' majority in Parliament to solidify their mandate in negotiating its Brexit from the European Union, explained National Public Radio.
The opposite happened, though, with the Conservatives losing seats, falling eight shy of the 326 needed for the outright majority in the United Kingdom's 650-seat House of Commons.
That forced the Conservative Party to strike a deal with the tiny Democratic Unionist Party to form a coalition government, which received its blessing from Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, according to The Mirror on Friday.
NPR said it will be just the second coalition government formed in the United Kingdom since World War II.
"This government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union," May said Friday in a Downing Street statement, according to the Mirror.
"It will work to keep our nation safe and secure by delivering the change that I set out following the appalling attacks in Manchester and London. Cracking down on the ideology of Islamist extremism and all those who support it and giving the police and the authorities the powers they need to keep our country safe."
May said her new government will put "fairness and opportunity" at the heart of Brexit negotiations to make sure "prosperity and opportunity are shared across this United Kingdom."
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, called on May to resign as prime minister, reported The Guardian. The Labour Party gained 34 seats in Parliament compared to the 17 the Conservatives lost.
"Politics has changed," Corbyn said. "Politics isn't going back into the box where it was before. What's happened is, people have said they've had quite enough of austerity politics, they've had quite enough of cuts in public expenditure, under-funding our health service, under-funding our schools, our education service, and not giving our young people the chance they deserve in our society."
Liberal Democratic leader Tim Farron called on May to disclose any deals she had with the Democratic Unionist Party to form her coalition government, said the Mirror.
"The British people have a right to know," Farron said. "The sort of government she forms will have profound implications for the Brexit negotiations and the future of the country, especially if it means she is taking sides in the peace process in Northern Ireland. Theresa May has taken the British people for granted long enough."
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