(London) Fresh from a landslide victory over the Conservatives in the general election, British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer promised Friday to embody “change” and “national renewal” once in Downing Street.
After 14 years of a Conservative reign marked by a succession of crises in recent years (Brexit, soaring prices and the waltz of prime ministers), a page is turning in the United Kingdom.
Without waiting for the results of the 650 constituencies at stake, the outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged in the early hours of the morning the defeat of his camp, announcing that he had called the leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer to congratulate him and assuming responsibility for a historic failure.
Rishi Sunak also announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party following its crushing defeat in the general election, apologising to the British people as he left Downing Street.
“I want to say first of all: I am sorry,” he said on the steps of the Prime Minister’s official residence before presenting his resignation from government to King Charles III. “I have given my all to this work, but you have sent a clear signal: the government of the United Kingdom must change. And that is the only judgment that matters.”
“After this result, I will leave the post of party leader, not immediately, but once everything is in place to designate my successor,” he said.
Read “Keir Starmer, UK PM: Simple, Unflashy, Pragmatic”
Late this morning, the 61-year-old former human rights lawyer will be tasked by King Charles III with forming a government. So it is a moderate centre-left leader who will enter 10 Downing Street and attend the 75th summit in Washington next week.e NATO anniversary, at a time when the far right is likely to gain power in France and Donald Trump seems well placed to return to the White House.
“Change starts now,” the future prime minister insisted, thanking his supporters and renewing his promise of “national renewal.” “I don’t promise you it will be easy. It’s not enough to push a button to change a country. It takes hard work, patient work, determined work,” he said.
The results early on Friday morning confirmed the scale of the success for Labour and the historic defeat of the Conservatives, which had been predicted for months by the polls.
By 2:30 a.m. ET, Labour had already secured at least 410 seats, more than the 326 needed to secure an absolute majority in the House of Commons and be able to govern alone. That’s just short of Tony Blair’s historic tally in 1997 (418).
According to the latest results compiled by the BBC, the Conservative Party emerged disavowed with what is shaping up to be its worst result since the beginning of the 20th century.e century: 119 MPs elected, compared to 365 five years ago under Boris Johnson.
Several of its heavyweights have been swept away by the wave of rejection it has provoked, including defence minister Grant Shapps and parliamentary relations minister Penny Mordaunt, who was seen as a possible future party leader.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who in 2022 caused panic in financial markets with her unfunded tax cut proposals during her 49 days in Downing Street, lost her seat to Labour.
PHOTO JACOB KING, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss looks on as she loses her South West Norfolk seat to Labour at Alive Lynnsport in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, during the 2024 general election count, Friday July 5, 2024.
“Difficult choices”
The front pages of the British press unanimously insisted on Friday on the Labour “tidal wave” won by Keir Starmer.
During the campaign, the latter, who entered politics only nine years ago, promised the return of “stability” and “seriousness”, with very rigorous management of public spending.
The future government will have to make “difficult choices” given “the scale of the challenge”, warned Rachel Reeves, who is set to become Finance Minister, a first for a woman in the United Kingdom.
Lacking charisma, Keir Starmer promises to transform the country as he straightened out Labour without any qualms after succeeding the very left-wing Jeremy Corbyn in 2020, refocusing the party on the economy and fighting anti-Semitism.
He says he wants to boost growth, fix public services, strengthen workers’ rights, reduce immigration and bring the United Kingdom closer to the European Union – without returning to Brexit, a taboo subject of the campaign.
European Council President Charles Michel said he looked forward to working with London under a Labour government: “We will discuss common challenges such as stability, security, energy and immigration” at the European Political Community summit on July 18 in England, one of Keir Starmer’s first major international meetings.
A “resounding electoral victory” also highlighted by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who congratulated his “friend” Keir Starmer.
PHOTO KIN CHEUNG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Labour’s Starmer says voters “have spoken and they are ready for change” as exit poll shows landslide victory, with him tipped to be Britain’s next prime minister.
Hard right
In this shaken parliament, the liberal democrats (centrists) will once again become the third force present, with 71 deputies, according to the almost complete results.
British politics are in turmoil: the anti-immigration and anti-establishment party Reform UK has entered parliament with four seats. Its leader and hard-right figure, Nigel Farage, will become an MP after a successful eighth attempt.
The former Brexit herald hailed the start of a “revolt against the establishment”.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party’s pro-independence party suffered a serious setback: it only won eight of the 57 constituencies.
The Greens won four seats, up from just one, in a House of Commons that will have a record number of at least 242 women, up from 220 in 2019.
Disastrous campaign
In power, Labour will have to respond to a considerable desire for change.
Brexit has torn the country apart and failed to deliver on its supporters’ promises. The price hikes of the last two years have left families impoverished, with more families than ever relying on food banks.
People can have to wait months to get an appointment with the NHS, and prisons are at risk of running out of places in the coming days.
In an atmosphere of permanent fratricidal struggles among the Conservatives, the political scandals under Boris Johnson and the budgetary errors of Liz Truss have finished exasperating the voters.
In 20 months in Downing Street, their successor Rishi Sunak, the fifth Conservative prime minister since 2010, has never managed to turn things around in public opinion.
The 44-year-old former investment banker and finance minister had tried a gamble by calling these elections in July without waiting until the autumn as many thought, but his campaign turned into an ordeal.