Chapter 547: Political Investment

"Today, I am honored to invite everyone to join the Conservative Party…"

Margaret Thatcher stood at the center of the stage, speaking with elegance and grace. At 53, she had already served as the UK's Minister of Education and Science and became the leader of the Conservative Party in 1975. Her charisma was notable.

Xia Yu listened quietly to Margaret's speech, occasionally clapping in response.

After the speech, Margaret showcased her decisive personal style, beginning to outline the Conservative Party's governance policies. She detailed how the party's policies would benefit the UK and the invited capitalists.

Xia Yu glanced at Elena beside him. She was staring at Margaret, who was glowing with brilliance on stage, her eyes shimmering with unusual light.

"Margaret's charisma is indeed strong; Elena is clearly influenced. I wonder if that's good or bad…"

Xia Yu thought to himself.

Margaret Thatcher's personal charm was undeniable. Xia Yu wasn't flattering her; in his previous life, Margaret was the first female Prime Minister of the UK and served three terms from 1979 to 1990. Her tenure was cut short because she failed to defeat internal party rival Michael Heseltine, preventing her from extending her legendary career.

In his past life, Margaret Thatcher was ranked 16th in the list of the greatest British people in history.

Margaret Thatcher continued her speech, focusing on the current election situation of the Conservative Party after outlining their governance policies.

The UK Parliament is the central stage of British politics and the highest legislative body. The government is formed from Parliament and is accountable to it.

The UK Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The House of Commons holds more power than the House of Lords.

The House of Lords, also known as the House of Nobles, is mainly composed of royal descendants, hereditary nobles, newly ennobled individuals, judges from the Court of Appeals, and important church figures. Members of the House of Lords are not elected.

The most notable power of the House of Lords is its historical judicial authority, making it the highest judicial body in the UK.

The House of Commons, also known as the House of Commons or the Lower House, consists of members elected directly by the public, serving a five-year term. The main functions of the House of Commons are legislation, financial oversight, and government supervision.

The UK is divided into constituencies, each with roughly equal numbers of voters. Each constituency elects one member to the House of Commons. Most constituency members are from a political party, but individuals without party affiliation can also run for election.

Currently, there are 650 constituencies in the UK, corresponding to 650 seats in the House of Commons.

Understanding the UK's House of Lords and House of Commons system clarifies that the Prime Minister of the UK is not elected directly. The general election actually selects the new members of the House of Commons.

When a party holds more than 50% of the seats in the House of Commons, it becomes the ruling party, and its leader is appointed by the Queen as the Prime Minister and is responsible for forming the Cabinet.

If the party with the most seats does not exceed 50%, it must form a coalition government with other parties. The specifics of the coalition or which parties are involved are subject to negotiation between the parties.

One thing is certain: a coalition government often results in a weakened Prime Minister who is frequently constrained.

At this moment, the election for the 650 constituencies was reaching its climax. Some traditional Conservative constituencies had already been decided. The Conservative Party had secured 172 seats, still 183 short of the majority of 325 seats.

The Labour Party was not far behind, having secured 169 seats. Despite poor public opinion, this result was due to the current Prime Minister being from Labour, choosing a favorable time to start the election campaign, which was an advantage for the incumbent party.

As for the Liberal Democrats?

After governing from 1916 to 1922, they had not held power again, so their influence had been largely absorbed by the Conservative and Labour parties. They had become quite insignificant, with only 32 seats.

Given the close number of seats between the Conservative and Labour parties, the remaining constituencies were highly competitive. Both sides were increasing their media exposure, presenting the advantages of their campaign policies to voters while fiercely attacking each other.

Additionally, the Conservative and Labour parties had entered a money-burning mode, continuously hosting political events and stunts to boost their profiles.

The sole purpose of all this was to win the voters' ballots!

...

Soon, Margaret Thatcher concluded her speech, and the fundraising phase officially began.

Since it was a political donation event, there were many who would have demands afterward, so it was not anonymous. The Conservative Party had dedicated tables and personnel for collecting and registering donations.

Xia Yu saw some people already heading over to make donations and register.

He was not in a hurry and instead started chatting with Gerard Pat.

If he remembered correctly, Gerard Pat had indeed successfully ascended to the position of London Mayor. Investing in him before he fully emerged was undoubtedly a good choice.

After all, the Mayor of London was already a senior position in the UK government. If Xia Yu established a strong relationship with Gerard Pat, the threat from Hong Kong Governor MacLehose would be greatly diminished.

Especially since the heads of various departments in the Hong Kong government were appointed by the British government, there were many areas that could be manipulated and influenced.

"Mr. Gerard, I've been following the London election. The Labour Party's Nick Keaton is not your opponent. Although he currently has a slight lead in votes, I would like to congratulate you in advance on your success."

Xia Yu said with a smile.

Gerard Pat smiled faintly and replied, "Thank you. However, the Labour Party has a strong influence in London. Although I am confident, everything remains uncertain until the end."

At this point, Duke Carter Howard suddenly smiled and said to Gerard Pat, "Gerard, your current approval rating is slightly lower than Nick Keaton's, but with Mr. Xia's help, I believe you are very likely to surpass him."

Hearing this from Duke Carter Howard, Gerard Pat's demeanor changed. He looked at Duke Carter Howard and then at Xia Yu, who was smiling, with a questioning expression.

He was not familiar with Xia Yu's background. Duke Carter Howard had only introduced Xia Yu as someone from Hong Kong, a friend of the Howard family, Elena's boss, and someone who had purchased the Financial Times Group from Pearson Group. Beyond that, he knew little. But now, Duke Carter Howard's words clearly had some reasoning behind them.

As Gerard Pat was contemplating, Duke Carter Howard explained, "Gerard, Mr. Xia is known as the 'Stock God of Hong Kong,' and he manages the Bright Fund, which is not only a major shareholder of the Huashang Bank but also owns the Financial Times Group and The Daily Telegraph."

Upon hearing this, Gerard Pat was taken aback and looked at Xia Yu seriously.

"Mr. Xia, I remember that the owner of The Daily Telegraph was Blake, right?"

"That was before. Recently, I acquired The Daily Telegraph. Perhaps the news hasn't spread yet due to the short time," Xia Yu explained with a calm smile.

Although Xia Yu spoke lightly, Gerard Pat had to change his attitude.

Acquiring both the Financial Times Group and The Daily Telegraph demonstrated Xia Yu's substantial financial resources. He was undoubtedly a major investor.

Moreover, compared to money, Gerard Pat valued the influence of The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times even more. Holding these two top British newspapers meant Xia Yu was a media mogul, and during this critical period, the role of media channels was significant.

If these two newspapers continuously promoted him, Gerard Pat was confident he could defeat Nick Keaton.

Duke Carter Howard was right. If Xia Yu was willing to help him, he was very likely to win ahead of schedule.