UK General Election: Sir Keir Starmer Set to Become UK Prime Minister as Conservatives Ousted

The Labour Party has secured a sweeping victory in the UK general election, winning hundreds of seats and ending 14 years of Conservative rule. Sir Keir Starmer is set to be appointed prime minister later on Friday, succeeding outgoing PM Rishi Sunak. Sunak conceded defeat at around 4:40 a.m., acknowledging Labour’s win and congratulating Starmer in a phone call. In his victory speech, Starmer pledged "national renewal" and prioritized "country first, party second." "We have earned the mandate to relight the fire," he told Labour supporters. “Our task is nothing less than renewing the ideas that hold this country together.” 

Who is Up-Coming Prime Minister Keir Starmer?

The result is a stark reversal from the 2019 election, when Labour, led by Jeremy Corbyn, suffered its worst defeat in nearly a century. Former Conservative minister Robert Buckland described the result as "electoral Armageddon" for the Tories, marking their worst performance in almost 200 years. A battle over the party's future direction is expected in the coming days.

Election Results

Britain's House of Commons, with 650 seats, saw Labour winning 410 seats, the Conservatives slumping to 119, and the Liberal Democrats taking 71. Reform UK, the successor to the Brexit Party, secured four seats. Labour's projected 170-seat majority is significant, though still short of the 179-seat majority achieved by Tony Blair in the 1997 election. For context, the Conservatives won an 80-seat majority in the 2019 election under Boris Johnson.

Major Upsets

Notable Conservative losses included former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who narrowly lost her South West Norfolk seat, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, who lost his East Somerset and Hanham seat to Labour. Rees-Mogg admitted, "I couldn't blame anybody other than myself," but noted that the Conservatives would at least remain the official opposition. Other significant defeats included Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt retained his seat, albeit with a reduced majority, while Sunak won his Yorkshire seat with a comfortable majority of around 12,000.

Quick Transition of Power

British politics moves quickly, with the new prime minister installed within a day of the election result. Sunak will offer his resignation to the King, and Starmer will be formally invited to form the next government. Following this, Starmer will appoint his new cabinet.

About Keir Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer, relatively new to politics, began his career as a barrister and became the director of public prosecutions in 2008. Elected in 2015 for Holborn and St Pancras, he became Labour leader after the party's poor performance in the 2019 election, promising a "new era" following Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. Re-elected on Thursday, Starmer emphasized the need for change and an end to "the politics of performance" in his victory speech.

Reform UK Gains Ground

Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, secured four seats, including one for Farage on his eighth attempt. The party's share of the vote was about 14%, a significant achievement compared to its predecessors, UKIP and the Brexit Party. Farage will be joined in the House of Commons by former Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson, Reform founder Richard Tice, and Rupert Lowe.