UK Elects new PM as Labour Party wins landslide victory: What’s happened next? – 247 News Around The World

Last Updated on July 5, 2024 by 247 News Around The World

• Labour Party wins a landslide victory in the UK general election, ending 14 years of Conservative rule
• Keir Starmer is set to become the new Prime Minister, vowing to “rebuild Britain”
• Rishi Sunak concedes defeat and will step down as Conservative Party leader
• Gains for other parties, including the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, and the Green Party
• Challenges ahead for Starmer include addressing economic issues and balancing domestic and international priorities

The UK has a new leader. Keir Starmer’s Labour Party won big in the recent general election. They earned a landslide victory.

The Conservative Party lost power after 14 years of governing. During that time, five different prime ministers led the country. Rishi Sunak was the most recent one.

Sunak took responsibility for the result. He apologized to colleagues who lost seats. He spoke briefly outside 10 Downing Street on a rainy day. Sunak said he will resign as party leader in the coming weeks.

In his first speech as prime minister, Sir Keir greeted joyful Labour supporters on Downing Street. He vowed to start a “national renewal” period. He said he will put “country first, party second”.

“For too long, we ignored millions falling into worse situations,” he said. “I want to clearly tell those people: Not this time.”

“Changing a country is not as simple as flipping a switch. The world is more unpredictable now. This will take time, but change will start right away.”

This is a big shift from 2019. Back then, Labour suffered their worst defeat in almost 100 years under Jeremy Corbyn.

Former Conservative minister Robert Buckland lost his seat. He described it as “electoral Armageddon” for the Tories.

For the Conservatives, this is their worst result in nearly 200 years. An ideological battle over the party’s future direction is expected in the coming weeks.

The election night brought significant results. Here’s what they mean.

Labour experienced a massive victory

Britain’s House of Commons has 650 members of parliament (MPs). Each MP represents a specific area called a constituency.

So far, Labour has won 412 seats, while the Conservatives have only managed to secure 120 seats. The centrist Liberal Democrats have gained 71 seats. Reform UK, a successor to the Brexit Party, is set to win four seats, and the left-wing Green Party is also expected to secure four seats.

Labour’s surge was partly due to the decline of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The SNP has faced controversies related to its finances, leading to a significant drop in its seats, now holding only nine.

Labour’s expected 170-seat majority in the House of Commons is a substantial number, though still short of the majority of 179 seats the party won under Tony Blair in the 1997 election.

For comparison, the Conservatives’ win in the 2019 election under Boris Johnson, which was considered a strong performance, gave them a majority of 80 seats.

A reminder: If a party holds a majority, it means they don’t need support from other parties to pass laws. The larger the majority, the easier it is to govern.

However, Labour faced notable defeats in some areas with large Muslim populations, where independent candidates campaigning on pro-Gaza platforms won.

There has been growing pressure on Labour over its stance on the conflict. In February, the party called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, but critics argued that the party was slow to take this position.

Many centrist groups from different nations watched this vote closely. They worried that supporting Israel could turn away some of their own voters. People often feel strongly about world events and political matters. Simple language helps explain complex topics in a clear way for all readers to understand.

See Also | Labour’s Historic Win: Keir Starmer Takes Over 10 Downing Street