Labor returned to Downing Street after 14 years and secured a majority in the British Parliament
The centre-left Labor Party won the election for the British Parliament early this Friday (July 5, 2024) with 33.9% of the vote. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party won 23.7% of the vote. Voting closed at 10pm (6pm Brasilia time). As this text was published, vote counting was underway.
With this percentage, the Labor Party won 410 of the 650 seats in Parliament, surpassing the absolute majority of 326 required to nominate a Prime Minister. Keir Starmer, 61, the Labor leader, is expected to be the new prime minister.
According to partial results, the The Tories (as members of the Conservative Party are known) are expected to win just 119 seats, a significant drop from the 365 they won in 2019, marking the party's worst defeat in decades.
Reform UK (formerly the Brexit Party) led by Nigel Farage won 14.3% of the vote and 4 seats. The party is led by Nigel Farage, a key figure behind the Brexit campaign. With the withdrawal of the United Kingdom Huh (EU), the party began to grow among right-wing voters.
Thursday's (July 4) election was brought by Sunak in May in a desperate bid to preserve his outright majority in parliament. At the time, the Prime Minister indicated that the vote had been rushed to check whether the British people wanted to promote their plans for economic progress or put their faith in the new government.
The Conservative Party's era of power began with a coalition government led by David Cameron, followed by Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Sunak. From 2021 onwards, the party faced a decline due to instability, internal disagreements and controversies.
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Labour's broad victory suggests that Starmer's election campaign, marked by meetings with voters across the country, has been well received by Britons. He is expected to make Sunak prime minister, the first Labor leader in 14 years since Gordon Brown (2007-2010).
Starmer has represented the London boroughs of Holborn and St Pancras in the House of Commons since 2015. A barrister and former Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 2014. In 2019, he accepted the leadership of his party and opposition from the Conservative government.
A defender of policies such as increased investment in public services, abolition of university fees and measures against corporate tax evasion, Starmer reinforces the social welfare discourse promoted by Labour.
