The Labour Party secured a dominant win in the U.K.’s general election early on Friday and remained on track to gain a supermajority in the British parliament, a result which has been deemed as the start of a new era in British politics after 14 years of Conservative rule.
Britain’s Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaks to his supporters after Labour secured a majority.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- With the counting of results still ongoing, the BBC’s tracker showed Labour has secured more than the 326 seats needed for a majority in the Parliament, while exit polls suggest it could be on track to win 410 seats.
- Shortly after Labour secured its majority, the party’s leader Keir Starmer—who will become the U.K.’s next Prime Minister—told his jubilant supporters: “Change begins now,” adding his party is ready to “restore Britain to the service of working people.”
- A few minutes before Starmer’s speech, outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered a concession speech to his supporters and said the British people have delivered a “sobering verdict” and called it a “difficult night” for the Conservative Party.
- Exit polls project the Conservatives, or Tories, are on track to win 131 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, which would make it the worst electoral performance in the party’s history.
- Newcomer hard-right party Reform U.K.—led by Brexiteer Nigel Farage—had a major impact on the election results by eating into a significant portion of the Tories’ vote share with exit polls showing they could secure as many as 14 seats.
- The centrist Liberal Democrat party also mounted a major comeback after being nearly wiped out in the 2019 elections and secured more than 60 seats— making them the third largest party in the Parliament.
Crucial Quote
“Across our country, people will be waking up to the news that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this nation,” Starmer said.
This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
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