In a stunning electoral defeat, the Conservative Party suffered a catastrophic loss on Thursday, with Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer emerging as the new prime minister. Starmer’s party secured 412 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, a majority of around 170 seats over the Conservative Party, which lost 250 seats.
Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has apologized for the Conservative Party’s dismal performance and is expected to resign as party leader shortly. The defeat was described by a defeated Conservative minister as “electoral Armageddon,” a fitting description considering the scale of the loss.
The polls had long suggested that this outcome was a foregone conclusion, with the Conservative Party’s repeated failures to deliver on promised results contributing to their downfall. The economy remained sluggish, and the party failed to address concerns over illegal immigration and border control. The government’s unorthodox plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda was also a significant factor in their defeat.
Additionally, the Conservative Party’s reputation was marred by allegations of cronyism and dysfunction, which ultimately led to the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s successor, Liz Truss. Sunak’s tenure was marked by his struggle to provide a sense of direction and his party’s perception as being out of touch and infighting-prone.
The Labour Party, led by a centrist successor to Jeremy Corbyn, presented a viable alternative to the Conservative Party, which was seen as out of ideas and unable to deliver results. With a significant parliamentary majority, Starmer now has the opportunity to govern and restore economic vitality, while also facing pressure from the party’s left to implement more radical reforms.
