U.K. Voters Give Johnson's Tories Large Majority; Labour Leader Corbyn to Step Aside

I am so relieved that voters in the U.K. saw fit to give Boris Johnson's Tories a massive majority government. As of this writing, the Tories have won 358 seats compared to 202 for the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn. The Tories have gained 50 seats while Labour has lost more than 70. The rebuke from the electorate is sufficient enough for Corbyn to announce he  will not remain as party leader in the next election.

The main issue in the campaign, of course, was Brexit. Johnson wanted to get Brexit done while Corbyn's position was incoherent. Consequently traditional Labour voters in Northern England, the Midlands and Wales came out en masse in support of Johnson.

But Corbyn did not inspire confidence with the way he handled the anti-Semitism which he allowed to fester in his party. Had Corbyn got the keys to Number 10 Downing there would have been a massive exodus of Jews from the U.K. Needless to say, British Jews are relieved at the size of Johnson's majority and will remain loyal Tory voters for years to come.

Although Corbyn will not lead Labour in the next election it is unclear when he will step down. Even if he does in short order many of his allies will still hold power in the party. In which case Corbyn's successor might be even worse on the question of anti-Semitism. In the event a more traditional Labour leader is selected the party will not easily regain the trust of Jewish voters.

Of course, Corbyn wasn't the only one who had a bad night. Liberal Democratic Party leader Jo Swinson lost her seat to the SNP. Conversely, the SNP nearly swept Scotland largely at Labour's expense earning 48 seats. Despite having a quarter of Labour's seats, the staunchly pro-EU SNP will be a bigger thorn in the side of Johnson with Nicola Sturgeon calling for a second independence referendum.

But right now Johnson is in the driver's seat which didn't appear to be the case as he fought off open Tory rebellion which included his brother within hours of becoming Prime Minister in July. He has come a long way. Leaving the EU is a risky proposition, but it's what Britain wants and Johnson now has the kind of authority that his predecessor Theresa May never had.

Even if Brexit was the main issue, I am heartened that U.K. voters overwhelmingly rejected Corbyn and the anti-Semitism which has flourished in the Labour Party.