Conservatives' stellar win

We congratulate the Conservative party on a hard-fought campaign climaxing in a convincing victory. The Cameron-led conservative party has won a clear majority in the general election. The Labour presence in parliament is now much reduced, while a resurgent Scottish National Party (SNP) will undoubtedly take up PM-elect Cameron's time in the new government. The Conservative party has got its arithmetic right but not necessarily the changed equations across the political landscape. Cameron must fend for himself on several tricky issues such as whether to remain in the European common market (EU) and the possibility of a resurgent Scottish claim to sovereignty.

One of the major headaches for Cameron will be whether to call for a referendum on the EU issue by 2017, as was promised during the campaign trail. It is unclear at this stage whether the pro-independence SNP will accept greater devolution short of an independent Scotland, in light of the Conservative party's electoral manifesto. This also promised devolved government in Wales and Northern Ireland. Although there have been doubts about how the markets would react to a possibility of Britain's pull out from the EU, the FTSE 100, considered to be the benchmark equity index for the nation's largest companies ended 1.8% higher. 

On a side note, three British Bangladeshis have been elected to parliament from Labour, indicative of a political niche which the Bangladeshi expatriate community is acquiring as well as the possibility of their interests being well served. Cameron has his hands full and his second term is going to test the last ounce of his political skill and strength. We look forward to seeing UK-Bangladesh ties elevated to a new level.