In the early hours of the morning at 4:40am, a disconsolate Conservative leader Rishi Sunak, his countenance pale in defeat, admitted to the audience at the counting centre located in his home constituency of Richmond and Northallerton in Yorkshire that Labour had come out victorious in the election. However, what Sunak neglected to accept is that as much as his opposition succeeded, his Conservative government was equally responsible for losing the battle.
The Labour Party managed to colour the UK’s electoral map in its favour, promising a solid majority with more than 400 seats in the House of Commons. Yet, this victory didn’t correspond to a significant surge in Labour’s national vote. English midlands reflected a minor 3% increase, recounting the rebuilding of the renowned ‘red wall’. Meanwhile, their popularity saw a more formidable growth in Scotland by 19%, leading to a diminished influence of the Scottish National Party.
However, Wales and London painted a different picture where Labour’s support dwindled by 5% since the previous elections, with a minor decrease also seen in the southern part of England. Compared to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in the 2017 elections when Labour prevented the Tories from securing a majority, their vote share has in fact experienced a downtrend, declining from 40% to 37%.
The Conservative Party saw a considerable downfall in their support, plummeting from 45% to a staggering 23%, proving to be pivotal in Labour’s sweeping victory. The spoils of this defeat were claimed by the Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage, and the Liberal Democrats, rather than Labour, implying that the votes evaded by the Tories were captured by these parties. Such is the merciless consequence of Britain’s first-past-the-post voting system.
Regardless, this will make little difference to the victorious Labour leader Keir Starmer, who will soon assume his role as the prime minister, thereby terminating the conservative dominance of 14 years. Labour has indisputably conquered their targeted sectors. It has marginalised SNP to a sparse number of seats in the central belt of Scotland stretching from Edinburgh to Glasgow, marking a tumble from their success in the 2019 elections. In line with this, Labour has also successfully reclaimed majority of the traditional working class seats in the midlands and northern England, recouping its loss to the Tories under Boris Johnson in 2019.
While Labour may appear secure on the surface, signs of impending challenges cannot be ignored. Farage’s Reform UK, despite only securing a few seats, has gained significant traction in certain North-East constituencies, achieving nearly 30% of the vote. This could potentially pose difficulties for Labour in these regions as time progresses.