UK Election: Labour Sweeps Conservative Party Aside After 14 Years in Power

Britain's Labour Party has been swept back to power in a landslide victory, after 14 years of Conservative rule.

The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has now become the U.K. prime minister, after voters gave his party 412 of the 650 seats in the Westminster parliament, based on 34 percent of the vote. There are two seats yet to declare as of 6 a.m. ET on Friday.

By contrast, the Conservative Party—who have led Britain for the past 14 years, through economic austerity, Brexit, Covid and no fewer than five prime ministers—were dealt a devastating blow with their number of seats falling from 371 to just 121, their worst performance in almost 200 years. They received 24 percent of the vote in total, down 20 points on the victory delivered by Boris Johnson at the last election in December 2019.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street after being appointed Prime Minister by King Charles, Starmer promised "change" and offered warm words for his predecessor.

He said: "I want to thank the outgoing Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. His achievement as the first British Asian prime minister of our country, the extra effort that that would have required, should not be underestimated by anyone...and we also recognize the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership.

"Our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal and a return of politics to public service. When the gap between the sacrifices made by people and the service they receive from politicians grows this big it leads to a weariness in the heart of a nation."

The election also saw a strong performance from the center-left Liberal Democrats who saw their number of seats increase by 63 to 71, based on 12 percent of the vote. Reform UK, led by Trump ally Nigel Farage, picked up four seats with 14 percent of the overall vote. Britain's "first past the post" electoral system tends to punish parties that don't have a strong concentration of voters in specific seats.

The Scottish National Party, which wants Scotland to leave the UK, had a very poor night losing 38 seats, and being reduced to just nine. The Green Party won four seats, up from one in 2019, with 7 percent of the vote.

Sunak said he accepted responsibility for the result.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street on Friday morning, Sunak said he would submit his resignation to the king. Starmer was later appointed as prime minister.

Addressing his defeat, Sunak said: "I have heard your anger, disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss." He added that he was "pained" by how many Conservative colleagues had lost their seats. He also described Starmer as a "decent public-spirited man who I respect."

A number of prominent Conservatives lost their seats including Defense Secretary Grant Shapps and Liz Truss, who served briefly as prime minister from September to October 2022 before being brought down after her economic policies spooked bond markets.

Notably, three independent candidates who focused their campaigns around opposition to Israel's actions in Gaza also won, as did former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who ran as an independent after being expelled from the party by Starmer following an antisemitism crisis.

Who is Sir Keir Starmer, Britain's New PM?

Sir Keir Starmer (pronounced 'Keer Starmer') was elected as Labour leader after the party's decisive election defeat under Corbyn in December 2019, assuming office in April 2020.

Coming from a working-class family, Starmer became a lawyer and headed the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales between 2008 and 2013, which earned him a knighthood. He was elected as member of parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras in London, in May 2015.

After becoming Labour leader, Starmer moved the party sharply to the center, following the left-wing leadership of Corbyn—who Starmer then had suspended from the party after a report blamed the former leader for antisemitism within the party under his leadership.

Starmer's rise to power was aided by a number of scandals and crises that engulfed the ruling Conservative Party, most notably "Partygate"—which revealed that then-Prime Minister Johnson and other leading politicians had held gatherings and parties during the UK's strict Covid lockdowns, eroding public trust. The economic agenda pursued during the brief premiership of Truss also destroyed the Conservative Party's traditional economic credibility.

What Are Starmer's Political Views?

Labour's main economic commitment is restoring stability and growth in the UK, and while it has won the trust of business, it has been criticized for a lack of clarity around taxes. It is also committed to fixing Britain's stretched National Health Service.

In its election manifesto, Labour vowed to scrap a controversial scheme introduced by the Conservative government which would see asylum seekers sent to Rwanda, although this was never implemented due to court intervention. Over the past few years, tens of thousands of migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in small boats, which together with an overall surge in immigration has pushed border control right up the political agenda.

Following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Starmer came under fire from within his own party after saying: "I think that Israel does have that right," when asked about water and electricity supplies being cut to Gaza, though he insisted "everything should be done within international law." Labour has said it will recognize a Palestinian state as part of a peace process leading to a two-state solution.

Starmer is an atheist, though during a 2021 interview with The Sunday Times Magazine he praised the social impact of religion. He said: "I don't believe in God, but I can see the power of faith and the way it brings people together."

How Did Trump Ally Nigel Farage Perform?

Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party and a prominent Trump backer, was elected to the House of Commons on his eighth attempt on Thursday, winning the Essex seat of Clacton by 21,225 votes against 12,820 for the Conservative Party incumbent.

In total, Reform UK took just over 14 percent of the vote, though they only won four seats. Speaking to Newsweek, Suzanne Evans, formerly a senior figure in Farage's old UK Independence Party (UKIP), praised his victory, commenting: "To get nearly 15 percent vote share from a standing start is quite incredible, and Farage was the man who was responsible for that, reaping success driven by his force of personality and conviction politics. They say, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.

"On his eighth outing, Farage finally won. The House of Commons is about to get [a] much more interesting place and, provided Reform can hold it together and avoid splits and infighting, they will only get stronger."

Trump responded to Farage's victory with a Truth Social post in which he said: "Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success. Nigel is a man who truly loves his Country! DJT."

Update 7/05/24, 07:57 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.

Update 7/05/24, 08:32 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with quotes from the new prime minister.