After the U.K.’s shock election result was revealed on the morning of June 9, the Canadian press started drawing parallels between Theresa May and Christy Clark.

Much ink has been spilled on how both Clark and May campaigned on strength and stability—and how that tactic failed. Out of touch with the desires of the electorate, both were handed rickety minority governments by voters tired of corruption, the opaque flow of wealth to the top, and the growing rich-poor divide.

But that’s where the similarities cease.

Theresa May is not Christy Clark. Yes, both women were unable to win enough seats for an overall majority, but while Clark’s hastily formed cabinet is unlikely to survive a no-confidence vote in the coming weeks, May has secured royal approval for her Conservatives to govern with the backing of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party.

The differences are significant. May campaigned on policies of austerity while Clark’s economy was booming. Clark was mandated to call an election, while May was under no obligation to head to the polls. And while the B.C. race was always going to be tight, Theresa May blew a lead that, just two months before the ballot, was 20 points ahead of her closest competitor.

How did it happen?

The young people of Britain turned out to vote. 72 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds marked their ballots, with the vast majority rooting for the official opposition: the Labour party. That trend continued all the way into the 35-to-44 age bracket, where Labour took 50 percent of the vote to the Conservative’s 30; a result that bucked the historical average.

Contrary to North American headlines, this election wasn’t just a do-over for the Brexit referendum. A lot more was at stake than protesting the withdrawal from the European Union. Consider, for instance, how the Liberal Democrats—the only major party to run on a platform of reversing the decision—gained only four seats, while Labour, who supported the country’s departure from the bloc, won 33.

No, this election was about representation—and, more specifically, young people feeling as if they were finally a priority. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn didn’t just court the youth vote, he embodied it. Running a number of campaigns like Grime4Corbyn—where underground rappers rallied their communities to the polls—speaking at music festivals, and shunning the polish of conventional politicians, the leader reached individuals with policies of social inclusion, topping up benefits and welfare, and funding the National Health Service.

Labour’s big success, however, has come at a price. Supporting austerity measures, privatisation of state-owned businesses, and cutting services in the name of cost-saving, Theresa May’s policies were already unpalatable to some. But after being forced into a “confidence and supply” agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to retain her post as prime minister, she will face even stronger opposition from left- and centrist-parties.

The DUP has a chequered reputation. Already criticized for being unable to work with the other major faction in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, and collectively collapsing the country’s power-sharing government in a stalemate that still continues, the party’s MPs have a history of producing questionable policies.

The DUP supports the prohibition of abortion—even in the case of rape—and refuses to soften existing legislation that makes pregnancy termination illegal. Its members oppose gay marriage, with one MP being quoted as saying that homosexuality is “immoral, offensive, obnoxious” and “repuls[ive]”. Its record with renewable energy and climate change is dubious, with the party promoting a poorly executed scheme known locally as “cash for ash”, which could result in a £490 million ($830 million CAD) bill for the taxpayer after inciting users to waste fuel. And that’s not to mention that the party counts a number of creationists among its ranks, with politician Edwin Poots comparing the big bang to terrorism.

With the final details of the deal between the Conservatives and the DUP yet to be released, it is unclear how many of these polices will make it onto May’s agenda. But the Tory majority has doubtless been shaken, and many are hopeful that the change in the legislature will steer the prime minister onto a new track.

The DUP support a so-called “soft Brexit”: a deal that allows Britain to continue its access to the European single market, and to permit U.K. citizens to continue to live abroad, despite the country no longer being a member of the European Union. This has the potential to temper May’s hard-line approach, which promotes a total removal from the bloc, full control over Britain’s borders, and the idea that no trade deal with the E.U. is better than a bad deal.

A number of Brits hope that the amount of seats won by Labour’s anti-austerity platform will serve as a wake-up call for May. If the Conservative leader continues to cut costs and neglect large sectors of the U.K.'s population, the results suggest that it is unlikely she will survive for another term—even if the Conservative-DUP alliance manages to flourish.

Clark and May are in radically different positions. Unable to secure the support of the Greens, all signs point to the early exit of B.C. Liberals’ recently sworn-in minority government. May, by contrast, will most likely stay on as prime minister—able to govern Great Britain, but with a greatly weakened hand.

Kate Wilson is both a British and Canadian citizen.

Follow her on Twitter @KateWilsonSays