As the momentous general election comes to an end, Britons have decisively shifted the political scenario, handing Keir Starmer nearly two-thirds of the seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. Labour leader Keir Starmer officially becomes the new Prime Minister of the UK after the ceremonial “kissing of hands” with King Charles III. While delivering a speech at Number 10 Downing Street, Keir Starmer said that he will lead a “government of service” after ending 14 years of Conservative rule.
While Labour won a majority of seats, its overall vote share increased by less than 2 percentage points to 34%. Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, who was known for being less popular among the masses, the party won 32% of the vote. Despite taking 64% of the seats, the party won with a low turnout of 34%, highlighting a huge drop in voter engagement. Political analyst John Curtice noted that this election appeared more like a loss for the Conservatives than a clear win for Labour.
Meanwhile, Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak resigned following his worst loss in history. Since the last election in 2019, the party has lost 250 seats, securing only 121 seats this year. Notable figures such as former Prime Minister Liz Truss, Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, and former cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg lost their seats. The Conservative vote share collapsed by 20 percentage points to just 24%, with many supporters shifting to the far-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage.
After winning four seats and 14% of the overall vote, Farage’s Reform UK party made notable inroads, with Farage securing a seat in Parliament on his eighth attempt, representing the Clacton-on-Sea constituency. The number of votes for the party increased by 12.3% since the last election, and Farage won by 21,225 votes in his constituency. Once known as the Brexit Party, Reform UK also performed strongly in several constituencies where they finished second or third.
Pro-Palestine Independents Make an Impact
With five secured seats, pro-Palestine independent candidates have made landmark inroads in the UK, showing the significant impact of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Jeremy Corbyn retained his Islington North seat as an independent, while Shockat Adam won in Leicester South. Ayoub Khan in Birmingham Perry Barr, Adnan Hussain in Blackburn, and Iqbal Mohamed in Dewsbury and Batley also emerged victorious.
Corbyn, 75, was re-elected after defeating Labour’s Praful Nargund by 24,120 votes to 16,873 in London’s Islington North constituency. He said, “People who voted for me are looking for a government that, on the world stage, will search for peace, not war, and not allow the terrible conditions to go on in Gaza at the present time.” In Blackburn, Labour’s Kate Hollern lost to Adnan Hussain, who said in his online statement to voters: “I promise to make your concerns against the injustice being inflicted against the people of Gaza be heard in the places where our so-called representatives failed.” Adam dedicated his win to the people of Gaza. Both the Conservative and Labour parties have not advocated for an immediate ceasefire, supporting Israel’s “right to self-defense,” which has frustrated pro-Palestine and Muslim voters. Conversely, George Galloway, leader of the Workers Party of Britain, lost his Rochdale seat to Labour’s Paul Waugh, despite his by-election win in February based on an anti-Gaza war stance.
In another win, the Liberal Democrat Party, led by Ed Davey, saw a recovery with 71 seats—a gain of 63 from 2019. Since 2010, when the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition with the Conservative Party to enable the Tories to form a government, the party has not won a majority of seats. The growing unpopularity decreased as voters seemed to have returned to support them this year. The party won several key constituencies, including Chichester and Lewes, marking a significant recovery since their coalition with the Conservatives in 2010. As Keir Starmer takes the helm, the political dynamics in the UK are set for a new phase, with a strong opposition and emerging parties reshaping the scenario in Parliament.
India’s Relationship with the Labour Party: Stance on the Kashmir Issue
In the past, the Labour Party actively addressed issues like alleged human rights violations and the Kashmir conflict with India, unlike other political parties. However, things have changed for the party. In 2019, under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the Labour Party passed an emergency motion at its annual conference regarding the situation in Kashmir. This motion followed India’s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August 2019. The Labour Party declared there was a humanitarian crisis in the region and called for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. India criticized this stance, labeling it “uninformed.”
The result of the resolution wasn’t in favor of the party, as it was perceived as anti-India, thus sparking a backlash against several Labour MPs of Indian origin and those representing constituencies with significant Indian communities. Now, with Keir Starmer as Britain’s Prime Minister, the party’s narrative on the Kashmir issue has changed as the manifesto promises to pursue a “new strategic partnership” with India. “Labour will build and strengthen modern partnerships with allies and regional powers. We will seek a new strategic partnership with India, including a free trade agreement, as well as deepening cooperation in areas like security, education, technology, and climate change,” it said.
Last month, while addressing a session at the India Global Forum in London, Labour Party leader and now Foreign Secretary David Lammy described India as an economic and technological superpower that is “the future of Asia.” He said, “India contributes so much to British prosperity already. Last year, India was our second-largest foreign direct investment contributor. Over 950 Indian companies are employing over 100,000 people in the UK. But it could be so much more, as India is only our 12th largest trade partner.” He had also mentioned the need for a “reset and a relaunch” of the India-UK relationship because the Conservative Party had “time and time again over-promised and under-delivered when it comes to India.”