Keir Starmer Elected UK Prime Minister as Labour Wins House of Commons Majority

Keir Starmer has officially become the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister following a landslide victory for the Labour Party in the House of Commons election. Labour secured over 400 of the 650 seats, leaving the Conservative Party in opposition.

Previous Election Results

In the 2019 election, Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party won a majority by capturing seats from Labour in its traditional strongholds in the north and midlands. The Conservatives gained 49 seats, bringing their total to 365, while Labour lost 60 seats, dropping their total to 203. The Scottish National Party (SNP) gained 13 seats, increasing their presence to 48, while the Liberal Democrats lost two seats, ending with 11. The Greens retained their single seat.

Main Parties in the Race

The UK political landscape is dominated by two main parties: the Conservatives and Labour. The Conservative Party, led by Rishi Sunak, represents a center-right to right political stance. Labour, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, takes a center-left position. Other parties with significant presence include the Liberal Democrats (center to center-left), Greens (left-wing ecopolitics), Reform UK (right-wing), SNP (Scottish National Party, center-left), Plaid Cymru (Welsh nationalist, center-left to left-wing), and the Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Irish, center-right).

Voting System

The UK uses a first-past-the-post electoral system, where the candidate with the highest number of votes in each constituency wins that seat in the House of Commons. To form a majority government, a party must secure at least 326 seats, or 50% of the total. If no party achieves a majority, it leads to a hung parliament.

Outgoing Parliament

Prior to the dissolution of parliament, the House of Commons consisted of 13 parties and 17 independents:

• Conservatives: 344 seats (52.9%)
• Labour: 205 seats (31.5%)
• SNP: 43 seats (6.6%)
• Liberal Democrats: 15 seats (2.3%)
• Remaining 43 seats held by nine other parties and independents.