13 December 2019updated 08 Jun 2021 11:06am

The Conservatives will use their triumph to ruthlessly reshape British democracy

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Boris Johnson speaks to supporters and press as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping election victory on December 13, 2019 in London, England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the first UK winter election for nearly a century in an attempt to gain a working majority to break the parliamentary deadlock over Brexit. As the results roll in the Conservative Party has gained the number of seats needed to win a clear majority at the expense of the Labour Party. Votes are still being counted and an overall result is expected later today. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

After a decade in office, at a fourth consecutive general election, the Conservatives have won their largest majority since Margaret Thatcher’s triumph in 1987. A result such as this is unprecedented in UK electoral history — and has little precedent in any European democracy.

The most immediate and obvious consequence is that the UK will now leave the EU. Forty seven years after it began under a Conservative government, Britain’s formal engagement with the European project will end. Boris Johnson’s Brexit will not be the “soft” variety that some liberals hoped for: the UK will leave the single market and the customs union, ending the free movement of people.