Conservatives came in first in Thursday’s election in Great Britain, but it’s their failure to win a majority that Republicans should examine for the lessons it teaches. If the GOP listens, they’ll improve their chance of winning control of Congress in the congressional midterm election on November 2.

A few months ago, Conservatives held a lead of 15 to 20 percentage points in opinion polls over the ruling Labor party – a lead that translated into a landslide of historic proportions and a majority of seats in Parliament.  But by election day, their lead had shrunk to 6 to 8 points and they fell 20 seats short of a majority.