The U.K.’s Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won the July 4 general election by a landslide, securing 412 (+211) seats with outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party down to 121 (-250) seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. Nevertheless, the vote shares told a story of a more modest victory for Labour, while confirming the Conservative defeat, with Labour getting 35% and the Conservatives 24%. Labour had consistently polled 20 points head of the Conservatives in opinion polls.
“In many ways, this looks more like an election the Conservatives have lost than one Labour has won,” political scientist and psephologist John Curtice wrote on the BBC’s website.
Following Labour’s victory, King Charles III, the country’s monarch, appointed Mr. Starmer as the new Prime Minister of the U.K.
Keir Starmer vows to rebuild U.K.
Addressing the nation outside Downing Street after he officially became the Prime Minister, Mr. Starmer said, “Our work is urgent and we begin it today”. “But have no doubt, we will rebuild Britain,” he added.
Mr. Starmer paid tribute to Mr. Sunak, who was appointed Tory leader and prime minister in October 2022 after Liz Truss’s disastrous tenure.
“His achievement as the first British-Asian prime minister of our country, the extra effort that that will have required, should not be underestimated by anyone,” he said.
“We pay tribute to that today. We also recognise the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership,” he added.
Mr. Starmer said the country voted “decisively for change, and a return of politics to public service.” “You have given us a clear mandate and we will use it to deliver change… and unite our country,” he said.
Mr. Starmer said that “changing a country is not like flicking a switch” as he acknowledges the world “is more volatile”. “It will take a while,” he said.
Britain’s Labour Party Prime Minister Kier Starmer makes speech 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Labour leader Stammer won the general election on July 4, and was appointed Prime Minster by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, after the party won a landslide victory.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Also Read | U.K. General Election 2024 LIVE updates
Rishi Sunak concedes defeat
Standing outside London’s iconic Tate Modern in the early hours of Friday morning, the 61-year-old Mr. Starmer spoke of change — Labour’s central theme, reflecting “a changed Labour Party” and a change to 14 years of Tory government.
“And now we can look forward, walk into the morning, the sunlight of hope, pale at first, but getting stronger through the day, shining once again on a country with the opportunity — after 14 years — to get its future back,” he said.
In Yorkshire, the outgoing Prime Minister Mr. Sunak, who managed to retain his own Richmond seat, conceded and took responsibility for the results. Mr. Sunak’s political future has been in doubt as some polls projected that he would lose his own seat.
“The Labour Party has won this general election and I’ve caught Sir Kier Starmer to congratulate him on his victory,” Mr. Sunak said, adding, that power would change hands “in a peaceful and orderly manner”.
Later, as he left No. 10 Downing Street for the last time, Mr. Sunak apologised to his supporters and said he would step down from the post of party Leader. Mr. Sunak, a 44-year-old father of two girls, asked the public to support Mr. Starmer and his family as they transition into No. 10. He also made a reference to his being the country’s first non-White British Prime Minister.
“One of the most remarkable things about Britain is just how unremarkable it is,” he said. “That two generations after my grandparents came here with little, I could become Prime Minister, and that I could watch my two young daughters light Diwali [Deepavali] candles on the steps in Downing Street,” he said.
Mr. Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murthy, were then driven to Buckingham Palace, to cheers and boos from onlookers. Mr. Sunak then offered his resignation to King Charles III.
With Mr. Sunak’s departure, the question of party leadership remains open. Former Leader of the House of Commons and a possible candidate for the leadership of the party, Penny Mordaunt, lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour by a wafer-thin margin of 780 votes, ruling out her leadership run. Another possible contender, Jacob Reese-Mogg, also lost his seat as did several other high-profile Conservatives, including former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, who lost his Hertfordshire seat. The education secretary, culture secretary, and justice secretary also lost their seats.
Across the Irish Sea, in Northern Ireland (NI), the Republican (i.e., seeking a united Ireland), Sinn Fein became the largest NI party in Westminster, retaining seven seats, while the Democratic and Unionist Party (DUP), won just five seats, a loss of three seats since 2019. Sinn Fein has had a majority in the NI Assembly since 2019 and is in favour of a Irish unification referendum by 2030.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party woke up to bad news on Friday, winning just nine seats, a loss of 38. The pro-independence party, which has been governing Scotland for 17 years, lost the Westminster seats in the two major cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, won his seat of Islington North as an independent candidate. He said his victory was a warning to the incoming government that “dissent cannot be crushed without consequences”. Mr. Starmer suspended Mr. Corbyn from the party in 2020 for his response to an inquiry into antisemitism within the party. The Labour party lost four seats on Thursday to pro-Gaza independents. After Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s counter-attack on Gaza, Mr. Starmer’s positions on the manner of Israel’s retaliation were criticized for being too soft on Israel. Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Jonathan Ashworth was among those who list his seat (South Leicester).
Friday morning was good for several other parties. The Liberal Democrats gained 63 seats, taking their tally to 71 seat. The Green Party won a record four seats. The Eurosceptic, anti-immigrant, Reform U.K. party won four seats, and its leader, Nigel Farage, won a seat after seven unsuccessful attempts. Mr. Farage was the de facto leader of Brexit movement.
“Conservative support fell most heavily in seats they were trying to defend. This is primarily the result of a large increase in Reform’s support, especially in places where there was a high Leave [the European Union] vote in 2016,” Mr. Curtice said.
Mr. Farage described the results as just the beginning of something larger.
“Believe me, folks, this is just the first step of something that is going to stun all of you,“ he said.
(with inputs from agencies)
