“Behind The Votes” UK Election Part 2: The Changing of the Guard
The 2024 UK Election | Credit: Financial Times
Sunak called the 2024 election standing in the pouring rain, foreshadowing the downhill turn of the Tories. Due to the economic downfall they had sent the country into, along side disappearing trust due to instability and illegal activity, it was fair to say Britain had lost faith in the Tory government. While Sunak was arguing for mandatory national service, the Labour party campaigned on the simple platform that they were not the Tory party. What made things even more interesting that a betting scandal emerged where aides close to Sunak had placed bets on the date of the UK election, with allegations they had used insider knowledge to make the bets. This was really the cherry on the cake for the British population in destroying their faith in the Tory party. Subsequently, with the Labour party’s foolproof strategy of not being the Tories, they won in a landslide. With a mammoth 291 seat majority over the Tories, the British population made their feelings heard.
A Missing Labour Party
Former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn | Credit: Tolga Akmen/Getty Images
But where was the Labour party during all those years of Tory instability? After the crushing election in 2015, Labour elected a new leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn was an unlikely choice as he had a history of socialist views and was so far from the Labour centre that moderates thought he was unlikely to win an election. However, socialists, who had moved away from Labour during the moderate Tony Blair prime ministership, climbed back aboard the Labour train to support Corbyn and elect him into power. But remember the moderates who said he would never be Prime Minister? Well, they turned against Corbyn, doing anything to stop the perceived takeover from the left. And remember those allegations of anti-Semitism? Well, they came from the moderates of the party due to the friendship that Corbyn had had with Ken Livingstone, who had been known to compare the Israeli government to Hitler. So Corbyn was already on the back foot, without the support of his party. He was then accused during the Brexit campaign of not pushing the Remain message hard enough. While the anti-Semitism allegations and the internal destruction continued, Johnson called the 2019 election, which Labour evidently lost, and Corbyn resigned as leader. In the next five years, Labour rebuilt themselves with Sir Keir Starmer at the helm, who distanced himself from the continued allegations of anti-Semitism against Corbyn, eventually expelling him from running. This stability meant that when the 2024 election was called, Starmer was well set to take the victory from the crumbling Tories.
What the Results Mean
The change in government and the landslide win by Labour highlights the out of touch nature of the Tory party. While many in the UK are struggling to keep the lights on or were unable to visit family during COVID, the government and its members often behaved in the opposite way. Further, the public began to feel the Tories were destroying cornerstones of British life, such as the NHS. Labour was able to capitalise on this and campaigned to restore Britain to the straight and narrow. While Starmer has won the election, he is still tasked with managing one of the most complex political climates in global history, and Brits and the world will be watching closely to see how he performs.
British PM Sir Keir Starmer | Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA
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