It was a night of shocks in the polls, leading to the news that Cameron’s Conservatives will serve the next five years as a majority government.
While the Tories celebrated, UKIP’s Nigel Farage, Liberal Democrat’s Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband all resigned following crushing defeats at the hands of the electorate.
After such a large swing to the right, following weeks of neck-and-neck pollster results, we took to the streets of Wimbledon to ask voters if they were surprised by the strength of the Tory win.
Are you surprised that the Conservatives have won the Election with a majority?
YES NO UNDECIDED
29% 60% 11 %
The nos were largely pleased to see the return of Cameron and the Conservatives, despite facing the prospect of continuing austerity.
Maureen Chadwick, a retiree from Wimbledon, said that she was pleased with the result, as despite being a Labour supporter in her younger years, she now sees the Conservatives differently.
She said: “They have done a good job, it was right that they continue.”
Brick-layer Ziggy Paszkowski, from Raynes Park, feels surprised at the victory but felt that the shadow of a Labour -SNP union was a big factor in influencing the win.
ZIGGY: Thinks tactical voting was used against smaller parties
“I definitely think it was down to the threat of the coalition – a lot of the voting was tactical to keep the SNP out,” the 60-year-old said.
Chris Buckley, 42, an electrician from Mitchum was very firmly in the not-surprised camp. He believes that Ed Miliband was the reason for the Tory win.
He joked about the former leader of the oppositions lack of social skills being the ‘nail in the coffin’ of his party’s reputation.
This view was shared by Paul Beaumont, 44, a hospitality manager from Wimbledon.
He said: “I think most people think Miliband is an idiot, who doesn’t know what he is doing.”
PAUL: Thinks (now ex) Labour leader Miliband is an ‘idiot’
Sandy Phukpho, a 17-year-old student from Wimbledon was both surprised and disappointed by the win.
She was looking forward to Labour being in charge and hopefully reducing tuition fees. She said: “I thought People would have more sense”.
Also disappointed by the idea of five more years of Tory led austerity was Werner Butter, a 25-year-old waiter.
His wife was most concerned, as she is a teacher and feared the affect of further cuts in education and the subsequent hardship ahead for education professionals.
However this conflicts thoughts from student nurse Gareth Dawson, who said: “I’m very relieved, I feel confident in how the Conservatives run the NHS.”
MAUREEN: Swing voter who is pleased with the result
The biggest shocks of the night came from the percentages of the win, which contradicted pollster predictions of a hung parliament.
Both Kate McKeand 44, a charity worker and Veronica Menzies, a retiree who are both from London expected it to be much closer then it was.
Peter Rossi, a 61-year old retiree from Lower Morden wondered how the pollsters could have gotten it so wrong.
He said: “I went to bed thinking it was neck and neck and woke up to this!”
Patcjiia Scott, 42 of Wimbledon echoed the majority when she said: “I was not really surprised. They sorted the country out and nobody wants to rock the boat.”
Image courtesy of FutUndBeidl, with thanks
