Tensions Heat Up Ahead of U.K. General Election

Candidates for Thursday’s general election in the U.K. made their final appeals to voters on Wednesday, emphasizing their varying approaches to the economy, Brexit, and national security. As of last month, current Prime Minister Theresa May was widely favored to win the snap election, which she commissioned three years ahead of schedule, hoping to ensure a conservative majority in parliament ahead of Brexit negotiations. But more recent polls anticipate a close race between May and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose campaign experienced a sudden surge in the last few weeks.

At the beginning of June, found that 38 percent of British adults held a more negative view of the prime minister than at the start of the campaign, while 40 percent held a more positive view of Corbyn. Mounting disapproval of May comes on the heels of her decision to on social care from requiring the elderly to pay more for their at-home care to placing an “absolute limit” on how much people will have to spend. Many prospective voters were also unhappy with May’s Corbyn in person prior to the election.