May’s London Election Defeat Exposes Brexit Gulf Dividing U.K.

  • Theresa May’s power base shrinks ahead of Supreme Court case
  • Ministers soften their tone on divorce from European Union
Photographer: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
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The curse of 2016 has struck again: an establishment politician called a vote he assumed he’d easily win -- and received a rude shock from the electorate. Yet this time, it wasn’t populism that won.

Sarah Olney’s victory over Zac Goldsmith, the son of a billionaire and former member of the ruling Conservative Party, was a triumph for a liberal, pro-European campaign that promised to fight for openness and tolerance and battle to stop Brexit at every opportunity.