2016 has been a tumultuous year indeed in British party politics. The completely unexpected decision by the British public to vote to leave the European Union has hit Westminster like a warhead, causing absolute disarray in every major British political party.

The hard-line socialist, populist Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, found himself the target of an ultimately unsuccessful leadership challenge, which has further widened the seemingly irreparable rift between him and his own parliamentary party and left the Opposition completely hamstrung.

The Conservative government itself was culled, with long-time Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osbourne both resigning from their posts in disgrace, after failing in their bid to keep Britain in the EU. This was followed by a confused and frantic leadership election within the Conservative party, which turned ugly very quickly, and eventually saw former Home Secretary Theresa May running unopposed to become the new Prime Minister.

The centrist Liberal Democrats, who had been part of the government until last year, have continued down their steep decline into irrelevance, with a mere eight seats remaining in the House of Commons.