By Judith Mora
London, July 5 (EFE).- Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party on Friday secured an absolute majority after a landslide win in the United Kingdom general elections, while outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives suffered their worst defeat in party history to end 14 years in power.
With 599 of 650 seats already awarded, the center-left Labour took 392, up from 202 in the last legislature. The results mean the party is on track to record its best result since the record of 418 achieved in 1997 by former leader Tony Blair.
Sunak’s Conservative Party, meanwhile, is sliding into an unprecedented crisis, having taken only 103 seats compared to the 365 achieved in the 2019 elections, which Boris Johnson won with his promise to deliver Brexit.
Starmer celebrated Labour’s historic victory, adding that “change begins now.”
“We did it!” said an exultant Starmer in a speech to his supporters, in which he added that the country now has “the opportunity to recover its future.”
He said British people would wake up Friday to discover that “a weight has finally been lifted from the shoulders of this great nation.”
Sunak, who was reelected as member of parliament for the northern constituency of Richmond and Northallerton, ongratulated the Labour leader on his victory and apologized for his party’s poor results.
He said there is “a lot to learn and reflect on” in the face of the Tory debacle and assumes “responsibility for the loss of many Conservative candidates who have worked hard.”
Later on Friday, having traveled to Downing Street in London from his constituency in the north of England, he announced that he would meet with King Charles III to formally resign as prime minister.
“To the country, I would like to say first and foremost: I am sorry. I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgment that matters. I have heard your anger, your disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss,” Sunak said outside Number 10.
“I will step down as party leader – not immediately – but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place,” he added.
The fall of the Tories is partly due to the unprecedented advance of the right-wing populist Reform UK formation of the former Eurosceptic, European Parliamentarian Nigel Farage.
Ed Davey’s Liberal Democratic Party is once again the third parliamentary force after years in decline. It is hovering at about 64 seats, snatched mainly from the conservatives in the south of England.
The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) also suffered a major setback, coming out of the election with seven lawmakers in the Commons – down from 43 it had in the last government.
This means that the SNP will no longer be the dominant party in Scotland, to the benefit of the Labour Party, although it will still lead the autonomous Scottish government until the next regional elections.
According to the latest data, Labour obtained 36 percent of the vote Thursday, compared to 23 percent for the Conservatives, with a turnout of about 60 percent.
After Sunak has resigned, Starmer will meet with the King to formally be appointed as PM.
Once in Downing Street, he is expected to give his first speech to the nation and begin appointing his ministers.
The new parliament will be inaugurated Tuesday with the election of the speaker, and on Jul. 17 the King will officially open the session with a speech in which he announces the Government’s legislative program. EFE
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