Authors: Andrew MacAskill, Elizabeth Piper and Alistair Smoot
LONDON (Reuters) – Keir Starmer is set to become Britain’s next prime minister, with his centre-left Labor Party expected to win a clear majority in parliamentary elections, defeating Rishi Sunak Sunak’s party, ending 14 years of turbulent Conservative government.
With many results still to come from Thursday’s vote, centre-left Labor has won 326 of the 650 seats in parliament, with exit polls suggesting it would win around 410 seats.
It was a night of shame for Sunak, with the Conservatives having won just 70 games so far and expected to suffer their worst performance in the party’s long history, with voters reeling from a cost-of-living crisis, failing public services and a punish them for a series of scandals.
“Tonight, people here and across the country have spoken out and are ready for change, an end to performance politics and a return to politics as a public service,” Starmer said after winning his seat in London.
“Change starts here… You voted. Now it’s time for us to deliver on our promise.”
Sunak admitted defeat and said he had called Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.
“Today power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner, with goodwill on all sides,” he said after retaking his seat. “There is much to learn and reflect on, and I accept responsibility for the loss of many good, hard-working Conservative candidates… I’m sorry.”
Despite Starmer’s convincing victory, polls showed little enthusiasm for Starmer or his party, and the country was facing a series of serious challenges when he came to power.
Britain’s tax burden will reach its highest level since the Second World War, net debt is almost equal to annual economic output, living standards have fallen and public services are in jeopardy, especially the strike-plagued National Health Service.
He has already had to scale back some of Labour’s more ambitious plans, such as its flagship green spending pledge, while promising not to raise taxes on “working people”.
The severe damage to Conservative support has been caused largely by the right-wing populist Reform Party, led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, who has strongly advocated curbs on immigration.
Starmer has pledged to scrap the Conservative Party’s controversial policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, but he himself is under pressure to find a solution to stop tens of thousands of people crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Within the Conservative Party, recriminations and debate about its future direction immediately began, with some saying the Conservatives’ defeat stemmed from abandoning its center position, while others believed the reforms had won over voters who believed the party had abandoned its roots. .
The Reform Party won four seats, and Farage himself was eventually elected to parliament on his eighth try, winning more votes than the Conservatives across the country.
“There’s a huge gap on the right in British politics and it’s my job to fill it, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Farage said proudly. “Trust me, guys, this is just the first step of something that’s going to shock you all.”
populist alternative
The rise in support for populist alternatives echoes similar recent results in Europe, where the far right has been on the rise.
But unlike France, where Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party scored a historic victory in last Sunday’s election, the British public is generally enthusiastic about center-left parties bringing change.
Starmer has pledged to improve relations with the EU to resolve the problems posed by Brexit at a time when far-right politicians are enjoying success. However, despite opposition to Brexit, rejoining the EU is not on the agenda.
If he wins November’s presidential election, he may also have to work with Donald Trump in the United States, but he has vowed to continue London’s unequivocal support for Ukraine.
The election victory would represent an incredible turnaround for Starmer and Labour, who critics and supporters say faced an existential crisis just three years ago when they were elected in 2019 After the fiasco, he seemed to have lost his way.
But a series of Tory scandals – particularly those involving the Downing Street party during the coronavirus lockdown – weakened then-prime minister Boris Johnson and saw his overwhelming poll lead evaporate.
Liz Truss’s disastrous six weeks as prime minister after Johnson was forced out at the end of 2022 has further cemented the electoral slide, and Sunak has been unable to comment on Labour’s current distant place in the polls Leading position makes no difference.
Sunak shocked Westminster and many in his own party by calling a snap general election in May, with the Conservatives trailing Labor by around 20 points in the polls, and his campaign subsequently proved to be a failure. A disaster.
Ed Costello, chairman of a grassroots Conservative group representing rank-and-file members, told Reuters: “We deserved to lose. The Conservatives seem to be exhausted and out of ideas.”
“But it’s not all Rishi Sunak’s fault. It was Boris Johnson and Liz Truss who led the party to disaster. Rishi Sunak was just the scapegoat.”
