Labour Party Wins U.K. General Election In Landslide, Ending 14 Years Of Conservative Rule

The center-left Labour Party won Thursday’s U.K. general election, ending the Conservative Party’s 14-year rule in Britain.

Labour leader Keir Starmer is now set to become the country’s new prime minister. He will soon be invited to Buckingham Palace by King Charles and asked to form a new government.

The result confirms the polls projecting Labour would win a majority as voters turned their backs on the center-right Conservatives, who had one of their weakest showings in years.

Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hoped to reverse his party’s fortunes by calling an early summer election. He seemed to think that his party would benefit from inflation cooling off and voters feeling more optimistic during the summer months, among other things.

Sunak conceded early Friday morning, saying power had changed hands “in a peaceful and orderly manner with goodwill on all sides.”

“The Labour Party has won this general election, and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory,” he said. “I will now head down to London, where I will say more about tonight’s result, before I leave the job as prime minister, to which I have given my all.”

However, a series of campaign blunders, including his decision to leave D-Day celebrations in France early to take part in an ITV interview and members of his party being investigated for taking part in a betting scandal about the date of the election, only hurt his standing further.

Nigel Farage’s decision, an ally of former President Donald Trump, to stand in the election as a candidate and take over the leadership of the populist right Reform U.K. party also further chipped away at the Conservatives’ support.

The Tories’ defeat appears to be the inevitable outcome of a tumultuous 14 years at the helm of the country stained by a series of scandals, the cost of living crisis as well as the weakening of public services, a priority for voters who cite health and the economy as the most important issues facing the country, according to YouGov.

The outcome of this race also marks a reversal of the 2019 general election results, where the Tories led by Boris Johnson got nearly 44% of the vote. However, two years into his premiership, Johnson was pushed out of the party following allegations of misconduct by a top ally and the flouting of COVID restrictions.

Liz Truss, who was then selected by Tory party members to take over from Johnson, became the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. Her botched economic plan spooked the markets and caused the value of the pound to tumble, prompting her ouster.

Sunak, who served as chancellor in Johnson’s administration, succeeded Truss. While he stayed on for about two years, he ultimately failed to change the trajectory of the race. Besides, his message on immigration and the economy, particularly accusing Labour of planning tax hikes, didn’t resonate with voters.

This means Starmer, a former human rights lawyer and prosecutor, will now be given a chance to govern the country. Starmer, Labour’s former shadow Brexit secretary, was picked to succeed Jeremy Corbyn, who resigned after the party’s poor performance in 2019, where the party finished second, trailing the Tories by nearly 12 percentage points. (Corbyn ran as an independent candidate in Thursday’s race).

Labour has held a double-digit lead against the Conservatives for the past two years as voters appeared ready to turn the page. However, in the campaign’s final days, Starmer reminded the British of the stakes of this election, urging them to reject complacency and turn out to support them.

Starmer, 61, has also pledged to improve living standards across the country during his upcoming five-year term. He promised Labour “will break with recent years by always putting country before party.”

“I am sure there are some people who would prefer a less sober message,” Starmer wrote Saturday in The Observer. “But the Tories have kicked the hope out of people so thoroughly, to expect a chorus of optimism would be like scattering seeds on stony ground. I believe in hope, and believe we can inspire it again.”