LONDON: The opposition Labour Party has emerged victorious at the elections to the British parliament. According to preliminary results, ...
LONDON: The opposition Labour Party has emerged victorious at the elections to the British parliament. According to preliminary results, it secured 326 out of 650 seats at the House of Commons, garnering the necessary majority to form the government.
The Conservative Party, meanwhile, went down in flames at the election.
TASS has put together the main facts of election results.
Election fallout
- The Labourists, led by Keir Starmer, have secured 326 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons, having obtained the majority necessary to form a new government.
- The Conservative Party, ruling since 2010, currently has a mere 73 seats.
- UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has recognized the Conservatives’ defeat and congratulated Starmer.
- The Labour leader has vowed to carry out sweeping reforms in the country.
- On Friday morning, Starmer should be received by King Charles III who will instruct him to form a new government. Following this, he will head to the Downing Street residence to address the nation in the capacity of prime minister.
What is known about Keir Starmer
- Starmer, a lawyer by trade, has worked on some high-profile cases in the past. These include a showdown with the Conservative government when they tried to shut down coal mines, going against the McDonald’s corporation to protect the interests of activists and defending a British soldier accused of murder at a checkpoint in Northern Ireland.
- In 2003, when Labourist Tony Blair supported the US invasion of Iraq, Starmer defended those UK citizens who joined Wahhabites to fight coalition forces. He also did pro-bono work on the international project to get rid of the death penalty.
- In 2002, Starmer was appointed the Queen’s Counsel, joining the UK legal elite. His legal career peaked when he became the head of the Crown Prosecution Service in 2008-2013. He was knighted in 2014.
- Starmer officially entered politics in 2015, when he was elected to the British parliament at the age of 52. The Labour Party was defeated at the election, and he was considered as a possible replacement for departing party leader Ed Miliband. Starmer refused, believing he was not experienced enough to do the job right.
- In September 2015, he became a member of the shadow cabinet, first becoming deputy interior minister and then the minister on Brexit affairs. He consistently supported the holding of a new referendum on the UK leaving the European Union. After the party faltered again at the 2019 elections, he replaced Jeremy Corbyn, having been able to move away from his predecessor’s radicalism and balance various opinions within the party.
Labourists’ stance on Russia
- In the election agenda, presented on June 13, the Labourists vowed to work with allies and partners on confiscating frozen Russian assets to use them for Ukraine’s needs and support efforts to hold Moscow responsible for the special military operation.
Situation with Conservative Party
- The Conservative Party has suffered a historic defeat and will be forced to acquiesce to the Labour Party after 14 years in power.
- Eleven members of Sunak’s cabinet failed to win re-election to the House of Commons
- The new parliament will not include Defense Minister Grant Shapps, Justice Minister Alex Chalk, Education Minister Gillian Keegan, Culture, Media and Sport Minister Lucy Frazer, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Michelle Donelan, Transport Minister Mark Harper, Minister for Wales David Davies, Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt, Chief Whip Simon Hart, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs John Mercer and Attorney General Victoria Prentis.
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