As the dust settles on a remarkable election upset, Jamie Pow summarises the election in five points.

Theresa May has done a David Cameron.When she first became Prime Minister, Theresa May promised stability in the face of uncertainty. She pointedly emphasised her different style of leadership: “Politics is not a game.” But nearly a year into her premiership, Theresa May threw the dice in the air. Just as her predecessor found out, no matter how much you think you will win, you can still be in for a nasty shock. The voters caught the dice and threw them back in the air.

On paper, the Conservatives didn’t ‘lose’ this election. They won the most votes and the most seats. There is little doubt, however, that the result represents a huge dent to Mrs May’s credibility and authority. She started with consistent leads of 20 points in the polls. But the more voters saw of her, the less they came to trust her as a steady hand in such uncertain times. The choice to hold the election was hers, and the Conservatives could easily have won.

Jeremy Corbyn confounded his critics. For two years as Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn struggled to reconcile the activist movement that carried him to the leadership of the Labour Party with the parliamentary party itself. Mobilising a movement was one thing, but mobilising voters was to be another. Senior Labour figures feared electoral oblivion. During the campaign, however, Mr Corbyn came into his element. He was energetic, enthusiastic, and seemed like he was enjoying himself.

What a marked contrast to the campaign run by Mrs May. He struck a chord with younger voters – many of whom did turn out after all – and with those who were increasingly sceptical that Theresa May could really offer ‘strong and stable’ leadership after all. Corbyn’s ‘weak and wobbly’ taunt was effective. Most importantly, Mr Corbyn’s confident, polished performances during the campaign helped to reassure and mobilise wavering Labour – and former UKIP – voters. Many probably still had their doubts, but Jeremy Corbyn did enough to persuade them that he was much less of a risk than they once feared. That represents an impressive turnaround. But the fact that it was such a last-minute turnaround raises an interesting thought: with a more mainstream leader to begin with, Labour could easily have won this election.

‘Brexit means Brexit’ means even less. If anyone thought they knew what Brexit meant before the election, try again. Theresa May called this election essentially on this sole issue, but yet seemed reluctant to talk about it. We do know, however, that Mrs May had been on course to push for a ‘hard’ Brexit. She wanted a larger majority to “strengthen (her) hand” in the negotiations. Having failed to give the PM a stronger hand, the bottom line must surely be that voters have rejected a ‘hard’ Brexit.

It is notable that despite Conservative losses in England, the party gained 12 seats in Scotland. Will they be able to help move the incoming government towards a more moderate position? Will former Remain Tory MPs, like Anna Soubry and Nicki Morgan, feel emboldened? With negotiations set to begin in just a week’s time, these are just some of many, many unanswered questions.

Voters in Northern Ireland have been decisive. This was a highly strange election result: none of the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats nor SNP can be satisfied with Thursday’s outcome. Then look across the Irish Sea, where the DUP’s 10 MPs can barely contain their delight. Many in the rest of the UK will barely even have heard of the DUP, let alone have any idea about its ideological positions. Google searches for the party climbed exponentially in the wake of the hung Parliament.

As the DUP enters talks with Number 10 over the weekend, it will have to perform a fine balancing act: to tick off as many items from its shopping list without overreaching. For now, they remain in the stronger position. The Conservatives need their support to form a minority government. But few Conservative MPs will want the arrangement to come at any cost. It is no bad thing that voters in Northern Ireland have played a direct role in forming the government of the country in which they live. It is also no bad thing that voters in the rest of the UK are reminded that Northern Ireland exists. It is unclear, however, how sustainable the Conservative-DUP arrangement will be. Another election could well be on the cards.

Northern Ireland is as polarised as ever. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland itself, the political landscape became much more streamlined, and yet much more messy all at once. After a heavily tribal Assembly election, the general election was even more so. Disconcerted by losing their majority at Stormont, many unionist voters rallied to the DUP. Nationalist and republican voters coalesced around Sinn Féin. There are two clear poles, with a conspicuous void in the centre-ground.

It’s not just Brexit talks that are imminent. Parties at Stormont are to return to negotiations to form a new power-sharing government. With Sinn Féin and the DUP buoyed by their performance on Thursday, their willingness to compromise with each other may have reduced even further. Will Sinn Féin have an appetite to return to the Assembly if it can just blame the DUP and the Tories for any difficult decisions? Will the DUP want to give much ground at Stormont if it feels it can get more of its agenda delivered from Westminster? And how can a new Secretary of State serve as an impartial chair? If we thought this general election was just a temporary nuisance for inter-party talks, the results may, unfortunately, be more far-reaching.

Also published on Medium.