2010s in United Kingdom political history

rdf:langString 2010s in United Kingdom political history

rdf:langString 2010s political history refers to significant political and societal historical events in the United Kingdom in the 2010s, presented as a historical overview in narrative format. There were four Prime Ministers during this time (Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson). However, Brown and Johnson were collectively in power for less than a year of this decade, the vast majority of the decade being under Cameron and May's premierships. There were four general elections (2010, 2015, 2017, 2019) and three parties (Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats as a junior coalition partner) had been in government during this time. The decade began with the last months of an unpopular Labour government that had been in power for 13 years had overseen the financial crisis, and a general election that resulted in the first hung parliament in 36 years. The decade ended with a Parliamentary deadlock over the issue of Brexit that ultimately led to the resignation of Theresa May as Prime Minister. Boris Johnson decided that leading a minority government was unviable, and Parliament arranged for an early general election (the first winter election since 1974), which produced the biggest Conservative majority since 1987. Notable trends during the 2010s included an increase in euroscepticism culminating in a vote by a small margin in favour of leaving the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum, four electoral victories for the Conservative Party and a concomitant decline in electoral performance for the Labour Party, and national debates concerning devolved administrations and independence movements, particularly in Scotland where the 2014 Scottish independence referendum saw 55.3% of voters support remaining part of the UK.