London, July 6 (FN Representative) Keir Starmer took over as the new United Kingdom Prime Minister after his Labour party won a landslide majority in the general elections to bring the curtain down on the 14-year rule of the Conservatives who suffered one of their worst defeats in the country’s history in Friday’s vote count. Indian origin Rishi Sunak, who became the Prime Minister in October 2022, conceded defeat and announced that he would step down as the leader of the Conservative Party, which suffered a 20-point decline in support, according to the BBC. In the 650-member British parliament, with only one seat left to be counted, Labour has already won a massive 412 seats, going beyond the exit poll predictions of 410 seats. Labour had 202 seats in the 2019 general election. The Conservative Party, which had been ruling the nation without a break since 2010, bagged only 121 seats, a colossal loss of 251 seats compared to elections five years ago. Sometime after his party reached the majority mark of 326 seats, Starmer officially became the 58th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after an audience at Buckingham Palace with King Charles III, who invited the 62-year-old barrister to form the government, UK broadcaster Sky News reported. Delivering his first speech as prime ministe, Starmer promised to restore trust in politics and build a “government of service”, BBC reported.
Getting down to business soon after, Starmer appointed Labour Party deputy leader Angela Rayner the deputy prime minister, while Yvette Cooper became home secretary and David Lammy was anointed the new foreign secretary Rachel Reeves was appointed the UK’s first female chancellor of the treasury. The election results saw the Liberal Democrats winning an impressive 71 seats, up from eight seats they got last time. The Scottish National Party and Sinn Fein won nine and seven seats respectively. The right-wing Reform UK won five seats. Twenty four seats have gone to independents and other parties. Earlier in the day, the 1962-born Starmer retained his Holborn and St. Pancras seat defeating his nearest rival independent candidate Andrew Feinstein by 11,572 votes. “We did it… change begins now”. said the renowned barrister, who has served as leader of the Labour Party since 2020, immediately after his win from Holborn and St. Pancras. “People around the country have spoken. And they are ready for change to end the politics of performance and a return to politics as public service,” said Stammer, born of a toolmaker father and a nurse mother. On the other hand, Sunak, the first British Prime Minister of Indian origin, managed to hold his Richmond and Northallerton constituency, but a large number of Conservative heavyweights were swept away by what is being called “Starmer Tsunami”.
Leading Conservatives who bit the dust included former Prime Minister Liz Truss, twelve ministers including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan. House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt. and former cabinet member Jacob Rees-Mogg. Forty-four-year-old Sunak took responsibility for his party’s debacle. “The Labour Party has won this general election. And I have called Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory. “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict. There is much to learn and reflect on. And I take full responsibility for the loss,” he said. Later in the day, talking to the media before leaving the prime ministerial residence 10, Downing Street, he announced his decision to quit as Conservative leader and said “sorry” to the party supporters for the defeat. A quick analysis of the election results showed the Conservatives suffered a string of reverses in southern England to the Liberal Democrats, who came up with their best result in a century. Similarly, the Reform UK, which obtained 14% of the votes, dented the Conservatives’ support base. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage became an MP for the first time on his eighth attempt.