Rival British leaders make final campaign push

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to the heartlands of Brexit Britain in a final campaign blitz ahead of Thursday’s election, as he seeks to secure the parliamentary majority he needs to take the country out of the European Union.

The city was one of the first places to declare its residents had voted for Brexit after a referendum in 2016.

While Johnson has made the Dec. 12 election chiefly about ending the tortuous path to divorce from the bloc, his main rival, the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn, has focused on promises of sweeping economic steps to benefit struggling Britons.

Johnson is ahead in opinion polls and forecast to win the 320 or so parliamentary seats he needs to finalize the EU divorce by Jan. 31. But, with many areas expected to be very tight contests, even a small change in public opinion could cost him an outright majority.

That would lead to a hung parliament that many expect to result in a temporary government led by Corbyn. This would mean the Labour leader had limited powers to enact his economic reforms but would see smaller parties coalesce behind holding a second Brexit referendum.

Via Reuters