The General Election has reached its conclusion, and we now have a Conservative majority in power.

Social media has erupted with the news, with Tory supporters singing Cameron’s praises and Labour voters threatening to leave the country. But is the situation as extreme as people are making it out to be?

Economy

On the surface, it would seem that the UK economy is in safe hands. Upon the announcement of a Conservative majority, UK shares increased, with banks reporting an increase of over 4%. The FTSE 100 grew by over 2%, and we heard reports of average UK house prices increasing by 1.6%.

During the last five, years, the UK has been through a major transformation, as the economy recovers from the global financial crisis of 2007-08. Now, we are at the point where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are placing us in a bracket with the USA and China.

However, dig beneath the surface, and cracks begin to appear.

Over a million people used foodbanks provided by the Trussell Trust Group in the last 12 months, an increase of 900,000 from the year before, and a study by Oxford University states that this figure will double in the next year.

The fact that so many people are so poverty-stricken that they must turn towards the foodbanks for help is a glaring issue in this country, which needs to be addressed.

National Health Service

The NHS has been a hot topic of debate throughout the election campaign; social media has been rife with accusations that David Cameron and the Conservative Party are ‘killing’ the National Health Service.

However, this is not necessarily the case. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has pledged an “absolute commitment” to increase NHS spending by £8bn per year (above inflation) until 2020. That being said, the move to privatise a number of institutions (with the end goal of improving standards) appears to completely contradict this idea.

This is a response to criticism that the UK’s public health service lacked funds and resources, after the government cuts which have taken place in the last five years.

Young people

Britain’s youth had a major impact on the outcome of this year’s General Election, with 58% of young people voting this year (an increase of 14% from 2010).

According to the British Election Study (BES), six out of ten people aged between 18-25 went to the polls on Election Day. But what does the result of the election mean for them?

Whilst maintaining in their manifesto that they seek to uphold the world-class reputation of UK universities, ex-Tory leader William Hague has said that they haven’t ruled out yet another increase in tuition fees.

This led to a social media storm, with many young people using online platforms to attack Conservative policies.

Party Leader exodus

The General Election was a complete and utter failure for three of the mainstream UK parties.

UKIP failed to live up to expectations at the polls, gaining just one seat (despite gaining 12.6% of all votes).

The Liberal Democrats lost 49 of the seats they had won in 2010; a sign, perhaps, of the electorate’s dissatisfaction with Nick Clegg’s performance in the coalition government.

Meanwhile, Labour were looking to significantly close the gap between themselves and the Conservatives… instead, they lost 26 seats overall.

As a result, all three party leaders (Nigel Farage, Nick Clegg & Ed Miliband respectively) all resigned the day after. This could be seen as a show of dominance from the Conservatives, but it’s clear that these three parties all want to make a drastic change, in order to challenge the Tories in five years time.