The Labor Party returns to power after 14 years of shadow government. As predicted, Labor swept the July 4 elections by a landslide, winning 412 seats, only 6 less than the historic result achieved in 1997 by Tony Blair. Keir Starmer is therefore Prime Minister in place of the outgoing Rishi Sunak who returns home after the historic defeat of the Conservative Party. For the Tories this election will go down in the annals: it is the worst result ever achieved since the post-war period. Great satisfaction also for Nigel Farage, who enters the House of Commons for the first time in his career, with his Reform Party winning 4 MPs. Ed Davey's centrist Liberal Democrats are celebrating, having achieved their best result ever. Worth noting is the data onaffluence, which fell to its lowest level in over 20 years: according to data that are not yet definitive, 59,8% of voters went to the polls, a sharp decline compared to 67,3% in 2019.
Starmer: first speech as Prime Minister
In the middle of the day, after receiving the post of prime minister by King Charles, Keir Starmer delivered his first official speech outside 10 Downing Street.
"The country voted for change, for renewal, for the return of politics to public service", said the new prime minister, opening his speech in which he stated "the country comes first rather than the party, The United Kingdom needs a real restart".
“From now on you will have a government free of doctrine, guided only by the determination to serve your interests. To challenge, silently, those who have written off our country,” Starmer stressed, adding that: “if I asked you now whether you believe Britain will be better for your children, I know many of you would say no. And so my government will fight every day until you believe it again." The Labor leader explained: “When the gap between people's sacrifices and the services they receive from politicians becomes of this dimension, it leads to a weariness in the heart of a nation, a feeling of exhaustion of hopes, spirit, convictions of a future improve". Starmer spoke of “the need to move forward together”.
What needs to be done is thereforeRebuild the country”” and its economy, under the banner of "secure borders, more safety on the streets", more resources for the national health system (NHS), "respect for everyone's dignity, opportunities from green energy sources". Starmer concluded his speech with an appeal: “With humility and respect I ask you to unite behind this government of service to renew the country": "A great nation" and a "courageous" nation in the face of the storms of history and an increasingly "volatile" world.
UK elections: who won
Labor had not won an election for 19 years (Gordon Brown had taken over after his predecessor resigned). The last time was in 2005 with Tony Blair. Not only that, for 27 years the Labor Party had not won an election starting from the opposition and not from the Government. He has done it now, with a landslide victory that delivers one into the hands of the party granitic majority with 412 elected deputies (the majority is 344). A resounding triumph with which the United Kingdom officially turns left, while the rest of continental Europe tries to resist the advance of the far right. AND a notable success for Keir Starmer, capable of profoundly renewing the party in his 5 years of leadership, bringing him back to moderate positions which brought him closer to the middle class and purged any radicalism.
It can only be counted among the winners Nigel Farage who on his eighth attempt after seven failures was elected to the House of Commons for the first time. His Reform UK won 14,3% of the votes at a national level, but due to the English electoral system, a pure majoritarian system known as First Past the Post which rewards only the winners of the constituencies and therefore favors the larger parties, there are only 4 seats, one of which was his victory in the Clacton-on-Sea constituency in Essex. Another objective was also achieved: stealing votes from the conservatives on the right, widening the party's decline.
They also rejoice Liberal Democrats centrists (12,3%), who won 71 seats, obtaining the best result in their history. In the 2019 elections the Lib Dems had elected only 8 deputies.
They also improve their performance Green Party (5 seats, 2 more than 2019), the Welsh party of Plaid Cymru (4 seats, +2), Northern Ireland's main centre-left party, Sinn Féin (7 seats) which for the first time exceeded the DUP (down from 8 5 seats). The Sdlp, the nationalist party of Northern Ireland, also managed to enter the House of Commons with 2 deputies.
Finally, among the winners is the former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, a radical leftist who was elected in the Islington North constituency in London. And he did it as an independent candidate, given that he had been expelled from Labor at the hands of his successor Starmer. This could be the only negative note on a triumphal day for Labour.
UK elections: who lost
At a national level, Labor obtained 33.7% of the vote, the Conservatives 23,7% and from many parts of the United Kingdom the same comment comes: "Labour didn't win, the Conservatives swept." In fact, projections indicate that, compared to 2019, the Labor Party has increased its votes, but not as much as would have been expected (+1,8%). Losing a record number of votes (-19,9%) instead they were the Rishi Sunak's Conservatives, dropped to their lowest point in history. “The Brexit bill has arrived”, many say, but in the 14 years of Conservative government there has also been much more. An innumerable series of scandals, the collapse of the health system, the collapse of the pound after the Liz Truss tax mess, the controversial immigration law wanted by Sunak to gather consensus. The final result of what happened is all in the numbers: 121 deputies elected, 251 less than 5 years ago.
Bad, very bad, too Scottish National Party which lost most of its seats in the British Parliament. The Scottish independentists, who have dominated local politics for the last 15 years, won only 9 seats, 28 fewer than in the elections five years ago, dropping from third to fifth party. “It's not a good night for the SNP,” admitted former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, while the leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, Stephen Flynn, spoke of a “tsunami” against his party.
Fourteen Conservative ministers lose their seats
Not even the ministers managed to keep their seats in Parliament. And the outgoing Prime Minister was also at risk, but in the end he succeeded. Rishi sunak he was elected in the Richmond and Northallerton constituency, in North Yorkshire, where he was a Conservative candidate. “I am sorry and I take full responsibility for the defeat,” said Rishi Sunak in his last speech to the United Kingdom delivered in front of Downing Street, before going to Buckingham Palace to see King Charles III and hand in his resignation. “I will step down as Conservative leader, but not immediately,” Sunak explained.
remain fourteen ministers outside the House of Commons of the outgoing government, including the Minister for Defence, Grant Shapps, that of Education, Gillian Keegan and that for Scotland, Alister Jack.
The former conservative British prime minister also lost her seat Liz Truss he lost his seat in the South West Norfolk constituency, while in the last elections in 2019 he had obtained a majority of over 26.000 votes. Truss had led the Tory government in 2022 for just 45 days, a record low in the history of the United Kingdom.
Comments
The first comments and traditional congratulations arrive from international leaders, most of them on X, to the new Prime Minister. The President of the European Council Charles Michel is among the first to intervene: “Congratulations Keir Starmer on the historic electoral victory in the United Kingdom. The EU and the UK are crucial partners, cooperating in all areas of mutual interest to our citizens. I look forward to working with you and your Government in this new cycle for the UK. See you soon at the European Political Community meeting on 18 July in the UK, where we will discuss common challenges, including stability, security, energy and migration."
“Congratulations Keir Starmer on your election victory. I look forward to working with you in a constructive partnership to address common challenges and strengthen European security", writes the President of the European Commission on Ursula von der Leyen.
“My congratulations to Starmer on his election success. The state of relations between Italy and the United Kingdom is excellent and I am sure that we will continue to cultivate a strong and reliable collaborative relationship between our great Nations, in the interests of our citizens and in line with common strategic objectives", she wrote Giorgia Meloni on X.
“Congratulations Keir Starmer on the win. We will continue the work started with the United Kingdom for our bilateral cooperation, for peace and security in Europe, for the climate and for artificial intelligence", comments the President of the French Republic, Emanuel Macron.
Similar words from the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: I congratulate Keir Starmer. As friends in Europe, our countries are closely linked in politics, economics and civil society. I look forward to deepening our cooperation in NATO, the G7 and between our governments."
Congratulations to Starmer on the “convincing” victory also from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Ukraine and the United Kingdom have been and will continue to be reliable allies through thick and thin. We will continue to defend and advance our common values of life, freedom and rules-based international order,” Zelensky wrote. Very The comments from Russia, however, were colder. “It is not worth expecting significant changes from the new government”, we read in “Ria Novosti”, according to which the Labor Party “will certainly continue the course of its predecessors in terms of Russophobia and escalation of the conflict in Ukraine”.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instead, he said he wanted to work immediately with Stramer to build “a more progressive and equitable future” for people on both sides of the Atlantic. “Let's get to the point, my friend,” Trudeau added.
“As she prepares to enter Downing Street as Prime Minister, I look forward to working together with her and her new Government to bring our hostages home, to build a better future for the region and to deepen our close friendship between Israel and the United Kingdom,” the Israeli president commented on X Isaac Herzog.
(Last update: 15.30 on 5 July).
