After 14 years of Conservative rule, the United Kingdom is set to see the Labour Party, under Keir Starmer come to power. House of Commons declared 648 seats, out of which Labour won 412 seats, and Tories won only 121. The numbers indicate a glowing win for Labour under Keir Starmer, but the contextual backdrop screams a different story altogether.
Labour being ahead of 290 Tories seats marks the biggest majority any party has had in Britain since the 20th century. But the results when analyzed carefully, depict more of an anti-Conservative vote rather than a pro-Labour vote. Compared to 2019, Labpur’s vote share has gone up by a modest 1.7% whereas Tories have collapsed almost 20% points.
Also Read | Amarnath Yatra Pilgrims Jump Off The Windows After Break Failure, Ten People Injured
Only one in 5 Brits voted for Labour
The 2024 elections also hit ground bottom in terms of voter turnout. Lowest in 20 years, voter turnout was below 60% in 2024 which infers Labour’s 33.9% vote share translating to support from one in five people i.e. only one in 5 Brits voted for Labour.
Compared to 10,269,051 in 2019 suffering a historic defeat, labour has won 9,712,011 total votes in 2024 claiming a historic majority. As mentioned by the Financial Times, “No British political party has ever won such a big majority with so few votes”.
Also Read | Assam Floods: Over 6 Lakh People Affected, And 70 Functional Relief Camps Are In Place
For Keir Starner strategy worked better in rural areas
The major turn of vote share happened in Scotland. Labour’s revival in Scotland and the share of Conservative strongholds made it a historic win, but it also unexpectedly lost many of its intercity strongholds in England.
The Labour strategy of doing well in more rural areas, more Tory areas, and whiter areas came at the price of losing its progressive stronghands of student demography or areas with Muslim ethnicity. Keir Starner’s prioritizing the business interests, lack of clarity in public welfare, and pro-Palestine positions have cost him the traditional Labour Vote bank of students, Muslims, and Blacks.
About the Author
Ms Anuja Choudhary is a public policy enthusiast and Master in Philosophy from LSR, DU. With a keen eye for authenticity, she is currently honing her craft as a writer to pen down the voices with utmost sincerity and integrity.
