Conservatives hang on to minority in U.K. election

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Technically it was a win, but certainly not the one British Prime Minister Theresa May was hoping for.

After Thursday's election, her Conservative party will form a minority government, supported by Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

But when May called a snap election in April, her party had a 20-point lead in the polls, and her hopes seemed to be for a landslide.

"Some people say election campaigns really don't make a difference in these kinds of votes," says CBC Europe correspondent Margaret Evans.

"I think in this case, most pundits would agree that she really did have a bad, bad, bad campaign … Out on the doorsteps, she really didn't connect." 

Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn, who had previously faced calls for his ouster from some of his own MPs, ended up with a better-than-expected result.

"His supporters would say he's been vindicated, they've been vindicated," Evans tells The Current's guest host Jan Wong.

"His campaign has always been very positive. They say they want to do politics in a different way."

Some in Theresa May's own party called for her to step down as leader after the results came in. But with Brexit negotiations with the European Union due to start in less than two weeks, May is arguing that what is needed is stability.

"It's a very fragmented and difficult time," says Evans.

"They can't have a leadership contest in the next nine days."

Listen to this segment at the top of the web post.

This segment was produced by The Current's Karin Marley.