There has been speculation as to how the upcoming general election, which is scheduled to take place on June 8, will be affected by the recent attacks. Shortly after the most recent attack, which took place in the London Bridge and Borough Market area, all of the main political parties, except UKIP, suspended campaigning for one day.
We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are. Things need to change, and they need to change in four important ways. pic.twitter.com/szq25idIC7
— Theresa May (@theresa_may) June 4, 2017
We need to have some difficult conversations, starting with Saudi Arabia & other Gulf states that have funded and fuelled extremist ideology pic.twitter.com/dZuGWbcAYL
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 4, 2017
Tonight's horrific incidents in London remind us how much we owe our emergency services. My thoughts and prayers with everyone affected.
— Tim Farron (@timfarron) June 3, 2017
Many leaders and politicians insisted that such attacks won't affect the UK's democracy, and electoral process.
In the aftermath of the incident, the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, issued a statement announcing Labour's decision to halt campaigning.
"We won't be campaigning nationally during today, but we'll be resuming later on. I think it's important to give a message that democracy must prevail. If we allow these attacks to disrupt our democratic process then we will all lose," Jeremy Coybyn told Sky News.
Inevitably, the incidents have affected the atmosphere in London, with people generally seemingly more vigilant, and showing greater interest and concern when they see a police vehicle with its siren is active.
Theresa May, the current Prime Minister, also said that the democratic process should continue as planned, uninhibited by recent events.
"But, while it was right that we should pause to show our respects to those we have lost and to ensure all our energies were focused on responding to the immediate aftermath of those events, it is also right that our way of life — and our democratic process — should go on," she said.
Given the fact that polling stations may be potential targets for terrorists, some members of the electorate may choose not to vote. Lower turnouts will disrupt the political process, and could potentially have serious implications on the result of the general election, and the UK's future.
Furthermore, most of the recent attacks in Europe have been fairly unsophisticated, and given the stepped-up security in London and other parts of the UK, it is likely that the perpetrators would be neutralized fairly quickly.
Towards the beginning of Ramadan, Daesh called for attacks in Europe.
Interestingly, the Borough Market attack took place just before 10 PM (BST), with Muslims breaking their fast at around 9 PM. Some people have indicated that potential jihadists are encouraged to carry out their rampages outside of fasting hours. Therefore, it may be safer to vote during fasting hours.
Realistically, it is unlikely that recent incidents will have a direct, significant impact on the results of the election.
However, some voters may be pushed away from the ruling Conservative Party, as they have made cuts to the UK's defense budget, and have reduced the number of active police officers.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.
