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06-07-2024
LONDON: The UK’s opposition Labour Party won a huge parliamentary majority in the country’s general election, unseating the incumbent Conservatives after 14 years.
Early on Friday morning, Labour passed the threshold needed to govern alone as outgoing PM Rishi Sunak conceded defeat. Sunak later exited Downing Street and resigned as the Conservative Party leader.
Keir Starmer, leader of the center-left Labour, now becomes the country’s next prime minister after declaring victory in the early hours.
“It is surely clear to everyone that our country needs a bigger reset, a rediscovery of who we are,” Starmer said on the steps of 10 Downing Street, vowing that his Labour Party will serve “country first, party second.”
Labour gained its second-largest majority after former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s 179-seat majority in 1997. The Conservative Party, meanwhile, slipped to its worst-ever result in terms of seats.
Millions of people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Thursday voted for their local representatives in the 650-member House of Commons, the UK’s lower house of parliament. The last few ballots are still being counted. Newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer thanked his predecessor Rishi Sunak in his inauguration speech at Downing Street on Friday but also made note of how much work needs to be done on the UK economy, trade and on international relations.
Next week, Starmer will head to Washington for the NATO summit, marking the 75th anniversary of the alliance.
Britain needs a “bigger reset,” newly-minted Prime Minister Keir Starmer said during his inauguration speech at Downing Street on Friday, shortly after receiving a royal mandate to form a government.
“It is surely clear to everyone that our country needs a bigger reset, a rediscovery of who we are,” he said, vowing that his Labour Party will serve “country first, party second.”
“You have given us a clear mandate, and we will use it to deliver change. To restore service and respect to politics, in the era of noisy performance,” Starmer added, urging followers to join his “government of service in the mission of national renewal.”
The Labour Party assumes leadership of a Britain that has been rattled by Brexit negotiations, the Covid-19 pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis fueled by the war in Ukraine during 14 years of rule under the rival Conservative faction.
“Our work is urgent, and we begin it today,” Starmer said.
Labour’s Keir Starmer paid tribute to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in his first speech after accepting King Charles III’s invitation to form a new government.
“(Sunak’s) achievement as the first British Asian prime minister of our country, the extra effort that will have required, should not be underestimated by anyone. We pay tribute to that today,” Starmer said during an address outside Downing Street.
“We also recognize the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership,” Starmer said.
Labour Party’s Keir Starmer met with King Charles III on Friday and was formally appointed as UK prime minister after Rishi Sunak tendered his resignation.
King Charles asked Starmer to form a new government, Buckingham Palace said in a statement, according to NBC News reporting.
Jari Stehn, chief European economist at Goldman Sachs, discusses the economic and fiscal landscape in the UK as Labour wins the 2024 general election. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
