UK Politics

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer triumphantly entered Downing Street on Friday, signalling a new era in politics and promising to fix Britain’s problems “with respect and humility”.The Labour leader returned his party to power after 14 years in the wilderness with one of the biggest majorities in history – 176 seats.After meeting King Charles, he stood on the steps of No 10 and declared: “Our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal and a return of politics to public service. Our work is urgent and we begin it today.”Labour won 412 seats, while the Tories suffered their worst result in history with just 121. Rishi Sunak announced he would quit as Tory leader and used his final speech in Downing Street to apologise to the British people and the Conservative Party.But Sir Keir was only too aware that despite his huge majority, Labour only received 34 per cent of the vote in an election with a low turnout of 60 per cent. His party received fewer votes than when it was defeated under Jeremy Corbyn in 2019.Labour was also helped by the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which split the vote on the right, earning 15 per cent of the vote and five seats.Sir Keir made it clear that his mission was to help those who “have been ignored” for too long.The Starmers enter No 10 as a new political era begins in Britain More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditor Great Britain’s Labour Party has defeated the Conservatives in a historic parliamentary election for control of the nation’s government. With most votes counted, here’s a breakdown of the numbers: 412 seats Labour has won 412 seats — a 63% majority — of the 650 seats in the lower house of Parliament. One seat remains undeclared.Meanwhile, the Conservatives have 121 seats, the smallest number in the party’s two-century history, and down from 365 seats in 2019.Smaller parties picked up millions of votes, including the centrist Liberal Democrats, who captured 71 seats — up by 60 from the last election. And one of the biggest losers was the Scottish National Party, which held most of Scotland’s 57 seats before the election but looked set to lose all but a handful, mostly to Labour. Each seat represents a geographic area of the U.K. The leader of the party with enough seats to command a majority — either alone or in coalition — becomes prime minister and leads the government. 14 years of power Labour’s landslide brought a new party to power for the first time in 14 years. Parliament had been led by the center-right Conservatives since 2010. They had faced one challenge after another, including Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring inflation.Many voters blamed the Conservatives for the litany of problems facing Britain, from unreliable train service to the cost-of-living crisis and the influx of migrants crossing the English Channel.In 2010, the Labour Party had been ousted after being in power for 13 years, its longest ever stretch. By the end of its last reign, Labour’s popularity had taken a dive. That was partly because of the deep recession in the U.K. that was wrought by the global financial crisis in 2008. 60% support for the two major political parties Labour and Conservative candidates were barely able to muster 60% of votes cast in this election, marking a new low.For the past 100 years, Britain’s two main political parties have garnered the vast majority of votes. In 1951, for example, the Conservatives and Labour netted nearly 97% of the vote combined. In the decades since, the trend has been clear — down.The two main political parties had candidates running for more than 600 of the 650 seats in Parliament, according to the House of Commons Library. But so did three other parties: Liberal Democrat, Green and Reform. 4,515 candidates An average of seven candidates — from almost 100 different political parties — ran for each seat, the library noted. Nine parties fielded over 50 candidates.The total number of people running for a seat in Parliament was 4,515 this year, the library stated. That’s over a thousand more than in 2019.Despite that relatively low share of the vote, Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be able to govern with a massive majority in the House of Commons.In Britain, the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins even if they don’t get a majority. This makes it easier for a party to win a seat on a relatively low share of the vote, especially when votes are spread out among many parties. More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorNigel Farage’s victory press conference was targeted by hecklers who accused him of being no friend to working people after his Reform party won four seats at Westminster overnight. A total of seven people had to be escorted out of the venue. As one man started shouting at him, Mr Farage, famously a large drinker, asked him: “Are you downwind a couple already? You’ve had a bigger lunch than I have.”He also questioning if they were actors – a nod to a Reform canvasser filmed using a racial slur to describe now former prime minister Rishi Sunak.Nigel Farage outlined his desire to make changes to the party during his speech More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has made Rachel Reeves Britain’s first female chancellor as he appoints his new cabinet to get on with the job quickly.One of his easiest appointments for the new prime minister was Ms Reeves as his new chancellor. She played a major role in the campaign and as a former Bank of England economist has helped bring economic credibility back to Labour from the wreckage of the Jeremy Corbyn years.She is the first female to hold the second most important role in governent in 708 years of the office being in existance.Reeves is Britain’s first female chancellor More