Britain woke Friday to the scene of a political earthquake. The opposition Labour Party, after 14 years in the political wilderness, has handed a brutal defeat to the ruling Conservatives.
Party leader Keir Starmer is now certain to become prime minister in the coming hours, replacing his Conservative Party counterpart, Rishi Sunak, who has presided over one of the worst electoral losses in British political history.
“We did it,” Starmer told a cheering crowd in an early-morning speech in central London. “You voted for it and now it has arrived. Change begins now. He thanked voters, saying they had changed Britain.
“A weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation, and now we can look forward again,” he said.As election night rolled through the small hours, the scale of Labour’s win sharpened into focus. A reliable exit poll published late Thursday found Labour on course to win 410 seats — just eight short of its highest-ever total. The Conservatives were projected to win just 131 seats, which would be the worst result in its almost 200-year history.
Labour’s victory was confirmed at around 5 a.m. local time (12 a.m. ET) when it secured the 326 seats necessary for a parliamentary majority. The precise scale of its victory is still being figured out as vote counts continue throughout the country.
The polls indicated a catastrophic election for the Conservatives, who were projected to win the fewest seats in their history, at 131. Unlike the U.S., Britain has no monthslong transition.
At some point Friday morning, Starmer will head to Buckingham Palace to be appointed prime minister by King Charles III, a formality in Britain’s constitutional monarchy.
News helicopters will follow his car as it wends its way through London’s ancient streets, flanked by police outriders. It will be Charles’ first post-election prime ministerial appointment, a private meeting that typically lasts just 30 minutes. His late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, saw 15 leaders come and go during her 70-year reign.
Meanwhile, Sunak and his family will leave No. 10 Downing St., where the prime minister lives and works. Traditionally the outgoing leader leaves a handwritten note wishing his successor luck.
The Starmers will move in soon after, with Starmer giving his first speech to the nation as prime minister at a lectern outside the residence’s famous black door.
Source: BBC
In other news – Voters in Scotland head to the polls for general election
Voters in Scotland are heading to the polls to cast their ballots in the 2024 general election. Polling venues opened at 07:00 and close at 22:00, when counting will begin. The first Scottish result is expected at about 01:00 on Friday morning, with most constituencies declaring between 03:00 and 05:00.
The BBC, like other broadcasters, is not allowed to report details of campaigning or election issues while voting is taking place. The first indication of how parties might have fared will come at 22:00, when the BBC, ITV and Sky News publish the results of an exit poll. Read more
