LABOUR SECURES LANDSLIDE VICTORY; STARMER PROMISES ‘NATIONAL RENEWAL’

Fri 05 July 2024:

The Labour Party has secured a landslide victory in the UK election to end 14 years of Conservative rule. “We did it!” Keir Starmer, the Labour leader and incoming prime minister, said in his victory speech. “Change begins now.”

Outgoing Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak concedes defeat, says he will step down as leader of the Conservative Party.

In a speech outside Number 10 Downing Street on Friday, the prime minister’s official residence, Rishi Sunak, announced he would meet King Charles to formally resign as prime minister and step down as Conservative Party leader after the devasting results.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceded defeat in the national election, saying the opposition Labour Party had won https://t.co/B15zNUKiPR pic.twitter.com/w2gtvuAs3R

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 5, 2024

“I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgment that matters,” Sunak said in a speech to voters.

“I have heard your anger, your disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss. To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly, but without success, I’m sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved.”

There was a surge in support for the Liberal Democrats, while the populist right wing Reform UK party picked up support from disgruntled Conservative voters to win a clutch of parliamentary seats.

The Scottish National Party had what party leader John Swinney called a “very poor result” losing dozens of seats. Key issues for voters in the UK included the cost of living, the health service and housing.

Labour sailed past the 326-seat threshold for a parliamentary majority early on Friday, putting it on course for a landslide victory against Sunak’s Conservatives.

So far, Labour has gained 412 seats, giving it a majority in the House of Commons.

Exit polls predicted the Conservatives were on track to win 131 seats, the worst result in its history. As the vote count continues, the party has currently gained 121 seats.

Earlier on Friday, in a victory speech, Starmer, 61, said the British people had delivered an opportunity for the United Kingdom to “get its future back” and restore the country to “the service of working people”.

Britain’s next prime minister, Keir Starmer, promised change as the Conservatives’ Rishi Sunak conceded defeat, with Starmer’s center-left Labour Party winning a huge majority in the country’s parliamentary elections https://t.co/jLQUZilBI7 pic.twitter.com/yu0snA4juS

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 5, 2024

“Our task is nothing less than renewing the ideas that hold this country together. National renewal. Whoever you are, wherever you started in life, if you work hard, if you play by the rules, this country should give you a fair chance to get on,” Starmer told supporters.

“It should always respect your contribution, and we have to restore that.”

Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands said Labour will face a long list of challenges given the “widespread opinion here that over the last few years, things have been getting worse and worse and worse – that public services in particular are crumbling; that the National Health Service is on its knees … that the chaos of the last few years of Conservative rule have basically distracted the government as it has been from doing what governments are supposed to do”.

According to one analysis by a prominent research institute, Britons had on average £10,200 ($12,950) less to spend or save in total during 2010-2022, when compared with 1998-2010 economic growth rates.

Starmer, who took over from left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2020, campaigned heavily on reviving the UK’s economic fortunes amid widespread anxiety over perceived national decline.

“In 1997, there was in the country a greater sense of hope and optimism based on the fact that Britain was in a very different position – not least because economically it was doing very well at that time,” said Diamond, who is a professor in public policy at Queen Mary University of London.

“The country that Keir Starmer inherits today is in a very different position,” he added.

“The economy has been weak for some time, it’s been through a number of shocks dealing with the aftermath of COVID, the Ukraine war and so on.”

In his victory speech, Starmer said the task ahead would not be easy.

“Changing a country isn’t like flicking a switch. It’s hard work: patient work, determined work. And we will have to get moving immediately,” he said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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