London: Britain has chosen Keir Starmer, 61, a former lawyer, as its new prime minister after striking a huge blow to the conservatives in a parliamentary election on Friday. This ended 14 years of unstable and often marked as tumultuous conservative rule.
As of 5 a.m. GMT Friday, the Labour Party had won 326 of the 650 seats in the UK parliament, securing a majority.
The center-left labour was predicted to return to the 650-seat parliament with a massive majority. Rashi Sunik the conservative prime minister has boarded a flight to tender his resignation to the King. The high cost of living, failing publishing services, and a series of scandals pushed voters to take the Labour route.
Victory speech
In his victory speech, Starmer said: “ Change begins now. We said we would end the chaos, and we will, we said we would turn the page, and we have. Today, we start the next chapter, begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal, and start to rebuild our country."
Sunuk concedes defeat
In his congratulatory speech to Starmer, the outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunuk said: "Today power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner, with goodwill on all sides.”
While Sunak has retained his seat many of his party candidates have lost the polls. Conceding the party’s defeat Sunuak said: "There is much to learn and reflect on and I take responsibility for the loss to the many good hardworking Conservative candidates ... I am sorry."
Liz Truss, the former prime minister whose premiership lasted just 49 days, has lost her lawmaker’s seat in the election. Truss lost her Norfolk South West seat to Labour by just several hundred votes.
Several other high-profile and senior Conservative lawmakers also lost their seats, including House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt
Much of the heavy damage to the Conservative support was inflicted by the right-wing populist Reform UK party, headed by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, who had campaigned strongly on curbing immigration.
"There is a massive gap on the center-right of British politics and my job is to fill it, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," a triumphant Farage said. "Believe me, folks, this is just the first step of something that is going to stun all of you."
Voters punished Conservative
Starmer has come to power at a time when the country is facing some of the most daunting challenges. One of the highest tax burdens since World War Two is set to hit the country, net debt is almost at part with the annual economic output, the living standards have dived, and public services experiencing cracks, especially the much cherished National Health Service—dogged by multiple strikes in recent years.
Tough times ahead
One can see Labour already showing problems in fulfilling some of its ambitious plans such as its flagship green spending pledges and the promise not to raise taxes for “working people.”
"I don't promise you it will be easy," Starmer said. "Changing a country is not like flicking a switch. It's hard work. Patient, determined, work, and we will have to get moving immediately."
Starmer has promised to scrap the Conservative's controversial policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, but with migration a key electoral issue, he will be under pressure himself to find a solution to stopping tens of thousands of people arriving in London from France on small boats.
Labour's foreign policy
Amid the popularity of far-right parties in Europe and elsewhere in the world, the British have plumped for a center-left party for change. Starmer’s foreign policy footprints resemble that of Sunuk’s on issues like Britain’s continuing support of the Ukraine war, and improving relations with the European Union without rejoining the EU, although Labour has been opposed to Brexit.
Turnaround for Labour
The election victory represents an incredible turnaround for Starmer and Labour, which critics and supporters said was facing an existential crisis just three years ago when it appeared to have lost its way after its 2019 drubbing.