The British General Election Explained: What Just Happened?

The queen at the State Opening, where she reads out the plans of the government. Photo: Parliament.uk/Roger Harris

The people of the UK went to the polls on June 8 and woke up on June 9 to a nonresult. There was no clear winner. British politics is now very complicated, and even more so to a non-Brit, as some of the concepts and mechanisms are unique to a democracy that has evolved over many centuries.

Why Was There an Election?