07/09 – International News Story and Update

Last week, on July 4, Britain’s voters ousted the Conservative party out of power in an unprecedented defeat. 

The U.K. Labour party won a decisive majority in the House of Commons with 411 seats out of the total 650 parliamentary member seats. [Politico]

The Conservative party which has maintained a tumultuous 14-year run in power, lost an astounding 250 seats, now holding only 121 seats following electoral results. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who held the post since 2022, handed in his resignation 

This was notably Britain’s second-lowest voting turnout in the last 100 years. Many British voters turned away from the two major parties that have dominated UK politics for the last century, with the centrist Liberal Democrats and far-right Reform UK party recording notable electoral gains. [Vox] 

Labour won a decisive victory in parliamentary seats, but the national popular vote paints a distinctly nuanced image of what actual support looks like for each party. 

Labour came out on top, but with only about 34% of the popular vote. The Conservatives came in second with 23.6% of the popular vote, their lowest in decades and a 20-point drop from the previous election in 2019. And the far-right Reform UK party accumulated a striking 14.3% of the popular vote. [Sky News] 

Following the results of last Thursday’s election, Rishi Sunak handed in his apologetic resignation as Prime Minister on July 5. 

In his final address outside 10 Downing Street, Sunak addressed the British public: “I have heard your anger, your disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss.” [Reuters]

Sunak has also stepped down as leader of the Conservative party. 

The leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer, has now been appointed Prime Minister and is currently forming his cabinet around him. 

Opinion: 

Britain’s voters are desperate for change. The Conservative “Tories” have held power in Parliament for nearly a decade and a half, with little to show for it in the public’s eyes. 

The UK has had enough and is ready to give Labour a shot at governing.

This significant triumph for the center-left UK Labour party is not so much a sign of large-scale support for their political agenda but more a frustrated reaction to long-term Conservative rule and popular disillusionment with their administrations’ incompetence. 

Voters have largely attributed rising insecurity, the cost of living, and economic stagnation since Brexit in 2016 to the Tories’ unfulfilled promises. This was compounded by botched responses to COVID and corruption scandals involving former PM Boris Johnson, followed by his incapable and unwilling successor, Liz Truss, who lasted less than 50 days as Prime Minister.

Sunak seemed out of touch and unable to connect with voters. He lacked any genuine popular base and was seen more as a technocrat simply ushered in to add to his prestigious resume. 

Sunak made the questionable decision to call for elections back in May, seeing as he had to do so before the end of the year. This early call surprised many, including his own party members, leaving the Conservatives scrambling for campaign momentum that they ultimately couldn’t muster. 

Rishi Sunak and his party were unprepared for this election, which he called prematurely, resulting in a crushing political defeat.

The final nail in the coffin of public appeal was Sunak’s lack of consideration and awareness, as he was caught leaving the 80th anniversary D-Day commemoration in Northern France on June 6.  [AP News]

Starmer is not necessarily the most appealing new leader, often labeled as ‘dull and boring,’ but voters were ready to give him a chance if it meant kicking the Tories out. Most voters likely did not like any of their choices, despite the landslide victory for Starmer and his Labour colleagues.

Overall, last week’s general elections demonstrated UK citizens’ overwhelming frustrations and lack of trust in the system, with a surge in anti-incumbency, muddled popular voting results, and a noticeably low turnout.

– P.T.