In perhaps the most important election in the United Kingdom since the end of World War II, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won a landslide victory, claiming a mandate to deliver on his pledge to take the country out of the European Union. The win is the biggest for the ruling Conservative Party since Margaret Thatcher was prime minister and the drubbing will force Labour to reassess its future. Johnson's biggest challenge now is not delivering on his Brexit promise — a job that is only just beginning — but to unite a country deeply divided and restore his own credibility.
Great Britain has been virtually paralyzed since the June 2016 referendum in which a slim majority voted for Brexit. To break the deadlock, then-Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election in June 2017, a disastrous decision that cost her party its majority in Parliament. She soldiered on but was unable to muster a majority to support her Brexit deal with the EU and threw in the towel in June, allowing Johnson to take the helm of the party.
His efforts to push Brexit through Parliament also failed, and in a final desperate gesture, called for another election, believing that it would deliver a mandate to leave the EU. The gamble paid off.