It's dark days of 1980s again for British opposition party

London

A FEMALE prime minister calls an election when the opposition is divided, squabbling over policies and led by an unpopular socialist who's prompted some lawmakers to jump ship.

That was 1983 during the Margaret Thatcher era, and it's déjà vu for the Labour Party more than three decades later under another Conservative premier, Theresa May. It didn't end well for Labour back then as it crashed to its worst electoral defeat since before World War II and took another 14 years to win power. Opinion polls suggest the party is headed for a similar fate in June, with one former leader not expecting Labour to form a government again in his lifetime.