UK Labour Party wins a huge majority

The Labour Party of the U.K. successfully won a large majority by defeating the ruling Conservative Party for the first time in 14 years in the early general elections.

It is believed that Keir Starmer, the party’s leader who is referred to as a second Tony Blair, earned the votes of moderate voters with his non-leftist policies such as freezing income tax and corporate tax, opposing an increase in child benefits, and strengthening border control. The Conservative Party, which won the lowest number of seats since its foundation 190 years ago, faced a defeat as it failed to address economic issues and the increasing number of illegal immigrants.

According to BBC, the Labour Party became the dominant party on Friday by winning 410 seats out of 650 in the House of Commons, which is 208 seats more than in the 2019 general elections. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party only won 113 seats, which is only about one-third of its existing 365 seats. The moderate Liberal Democrats became the third-largest party by winning 71 seats, while the Reform UK, a far-right party, earned four seats, making the party’s first appearance in the House of Commons.

As the leader of the majority party serves as the prime minister under the U.K.’s parliamentary system, the Labour Party’s leader, Starmer, will lead the U.K. facing multiple challenging issues as the next prime minister. “The U.K. has its future back after 14 years. We can finally walk under the sunshine of hope,” Starmer said to his supporters in central London as the party’s win became apparent after an interim count of votes on Friday.

The Conservative Party is under criticism that it needs a reform comparable to the re-establishment of the party after its worst performance since it was first founded in 1834. The party, which produced prominent prime ministers such as Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, failed to address the economic crises, including high inflation and reduced investment due to Brexit. Some members of the party even said that they were massacred. “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict. I take responsibility for the loss,” said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.


Eun-A Cho achim@donga.com