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The 3rd Prime Minister

Quantarius Whitted-Williams
North Carolina A&T State University
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Table of Contents
The 3rd Prime Minister 3-6
Appendix 7
Bibliography 8
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One of the most significant elections to happen in 2019 will be the general election

happening in the United Kingdom on December 12th 2019. The UK held its general election in

2017 and wasn't set to have another one until 2022. The referendum held in 2016, where the UK

voted in favor of leaving the European Union, left the government in shambles. The European

Union consists of 28 European countries, and if the UK leaves, it will be the first member state to

withdraw from the EU. This election could potentially lead to the UK's third prime minister in

the course of one year if their current prime minister, Boris Johnson, is voted out. This election is

taking Brexit out of the government's hands, and putting it back into the constituents.

Thursday, June 23rd, 2016 is when 52% of the United Kingdom voted to leave the

European Union. The Prime Minister initially tasked with the daunting task of carrying out

Brexit was Theresa May. She triggered Article 50, which is the formal process to leave the EU,

and was given until March 29th, 2019, to create a Brexit deal in which everyone could agree on.

The deadline has been delayed twice so far because Members of Parliament rejected both her

original, as well as her revised Brexit deals.

The main issue with Theresa Mays Brexit deal was Irish Backstop. The United Kingdom

is comprised of Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which is separate from the

country Ireland, also known as The Republic of Ireland. The only land border between the UK

and the EU is between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which ultimately will affect

trade (See Map 1). According to the New York Times, "Mrs. May's pact with the European

Union provides that if Britain and the European Union cannot agree on a long-term trade

arrangement that deals with the Irish border question, then either at the end of 2020 or the end of

2022, the backstop would kick in." (Pérez-Peña, 2019). The issue with the backstop was that

MPs feared that the EU could use it as a trap to keep the UK in the customs union, preventing the
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country from creating new trade deals with other countries. After failing to sell her Brexit deal to

Members of Parliament three times, she was eventually forced to resign as Prime Minister on

June 7th, 2019.

Theresa May's resignation led to the first re-election to happen in the UK in 2019. The

next general election, which is the election that changes the makeup of parliament, was not set to

occur until 2022. This meant that through what is known as the Conservative leadership contest,

only the Conservative members of parliament and party members were allowed to vote for the

next prime minister. Ten candidates ran to become the new leader of the conservative party

which was eventually narrowed down to two, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. Boris Johnson

won with 162 votes in the final round and took over as prime minister in July of 2019. The UK

was set to leave the EU on October 31st, 2019 and he was now tasked with the challenge of

negotiating a new deal in which everyone could agree upon. In Johnson's new deal, "The

backstop has been replaced with new customs arrangements. Once they take effect, the UK

would be able to sign and implement its trade agreements with countries around the world."

("Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU," 2019). This would solve the issue

of the Irish backstop and prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of

Ireland (refer to map 2). The revised Brexit deal was anticipated to be voted on in Parliament on

October 19th, however that vote never happened.

The UK wasn't supposed to have elections until 2022, but after Theresa May, the

conservative party was left divided. When Boris Johnson took over as prime minister in July he

faced even more rebellion from within the conservative party. This led to more than 20

conservative members joining the opposition to pass legislation blocking a no-deal Brexit,

permanently leaving the conservative party as the minority. In parliamentary systems, ruling
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without the majority does not work. Boris Johnson made the decision to hold a general election

in order to regain the majority, but this came with a forced extension of the Brexit deadline from

October 31st, 2019 to January 31st, 2020. This will be the second election, and possible third

Prime Minister for the UK in one year. According to Forbes, "The election will be fought on one

issue alone, namely Brexit… This General Election is, in effect, a second referendum.

Parliament has been unable to agree on what form Brexit should take - or if it should happen at

all. So now the people will decide." (Coppola, 2019). Brexit is a vital issue facing this election

and is likely to make or break who is chosen as the next prime minister (see graph 1).

The key players in this upcoming election will be the leaders of the two largest parties in

the UK; Boris Johnson of the Conservatives, and Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party. Boris

Johnson is pro-Brexit and is promising "he'll "get Brexit done" and "unleash the potential of the

whole UK." (Kirby, 2019). He is also promising to pass his Brexit deal in January, as well as

figuring out a free-trade agreement with the EU in 11 months. Aside from Brexit, the

Conservative party is promising more funding for NHS (National Health Service) as well as

more funding for police. Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party state "they will renegotiate the

Brexit deal in three months, seeking closer ties with the EU. Then, they will hold another

referendum in six months, where they will ask the public whether they want to leave with the EU

with Labour's deal, or remain in the EU." (Kirby, 2019). Unfortunately, this also means further

delay of Brexit which has already taken three years. While the Conservative party has taken a

pro-Brexit stance, Jeremy Corbyn is deciding to stay neutral although his party wants him to take

a pro-Remain stance. While the Labour parties' views on Brexit are not popular with voters, their

other policies are getting attention from voters. The party promises free tuition, an increase in

health spending and taxes on the rich, and the nationalization of some industries.
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While Corbyn and Johnson are the leading contenders, two smaller parties also have the

power to take votes away from their parties. Jo Swinson and the Liberal Democrats have taken a

pro-Remain stance on Brexit and have promised to revoke Article 50 and stop Brexit. The Lib

Dems started very promisingly, but their voting percentage has gone down throughout the

campaign. They initially gained popularity because of their support of a second referendum,

however since their stance has changed to canceling Brexit it has turned some voters off.

Another small party with a following is Nigel Farage and the Brexit Party. Farage founded the

Brexit Party in April to ensure the UK leaves the EU under any circumstance. The main

difference between the Conservatives and the Brexit Party is that the Brexit Party would be fine

leaving the EU without a deal. All in all, the party is supporting the Conservatives and are

prepared to quit the party in order to back Conservatives in the election. There are other smaller

parties such as the Greens and the SNP but they will have little if any impact on the outcome.

The general election is set to happen on December 12th, 2019. Polls have been

fluctuating, but currently the Conservatives are in the lead. 3.2 million people have registered to

vote in this election, two-thirds of which are under the age of 35. The Labour Party is hoping

young voters will help swing the election in their direction. This election is one of the largest and

most important elections of the year. Whether the constituents of the United Kingdom decide to

stick with Boris Johnson, or elect a new Prime Minister will decide the future of their country.
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Appendix

Map 1

Map 2

Graph 1
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Bibliography
Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU. (2019, December 05). Retrieved December

10, 2019, from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887

Coppola, F. (2019, October 30). The Brexit election. Retrieved December 09, 2019, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2019/10/30/the-brexit-election/#6405f5677df0

Kirby, J. (2019, December 09). The 2019 UK elections, explained. Retrieved December 09, 2019, from

https://www.vox.com/world/2019/12/9/20993571/uk-elections-2019-brexit-johnson-corbyn

Pérez-Peña, R. (2019, January 30). What Is the Irish Backstop, and Why Is It Holding Up Brexit?

Retrieved December 9, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/world/europe/irish-

backstop-brexit.html