Keir Starmer Has Dethroned Rishi Sunak and Will Become New Prime Minister

Keir Starmer Set to Become UK’s New PM as Labour Party Wins Majority in Parliament

London, Jul 5: Keir Starmer is set to become Britain’s next prime minister after his Labour Party achieved a landslide majority on Friday in the parliamentary elections, delivering a significant defeat to incumbent premier Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.

As Labour surpassed the halfway mark of 650 constituencies, clinching the minimum 326 required for a majority in Parliament, Starmer, 61, stepped up to make his victory speech in London. He is just hours away from formally becoming the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

“We did it, you campaigned for it, you fought for it, you voted for it and now it has arrived, change begins now,” declared Starmer to a cheering crowd, promising that the work begins immediately. He pledged “national renewal” following 14 years of Conservative rule.

However, Starmer cautioned that having “a mandate like this comes with a great responsibility.” His statement underscores the weight of expectations and the significant challenges that lie ahead for his administration.

Meanwhile, the country’s first British Indian prime minister, Rishi Sunak, comfortably held on to his own Richmond and Northallerton seat in northern England with 23,059 votes but failed to turn things around for his party at a national level.

A sombre-looking Sunak, 44, was joined by his wife Akshata Murty as his future as a member of Parliament was decided. He chose to use his acceptance speech to admit his party’s defeat in securing another term in government. “The Labour Party has won this general election and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory,” said Sunak, acknowledging the “sobering verdict” handed to his party and taking “responsibility for the loss.”

Sunak pledged to “continue to serve” his constituents for the “weeks, months and years ahead” and stressed that the transfer of power at Westminster will take place in a “peaceful and orderly manner with goodwill on all sides.” This commitment highlights the importance of stability and continuity during political transitions.

The election results have been particularly harsh for the Conservatives, with prominent ministers and MPs including Grant Shapps, Penny Mordaunt, and Jacob Rees-Mogg losing their seats. The results are being dubbed a “bloodbath” for the party. However, among the new Tory MPs is British Indian candidate Shivani Raja, who beat Labour’s candidate, former deputy mayor of London Rajesh Agrawal, in the closely watched Leicester East constituency.

Keir Starmer won his own seat of Holborn and St. Pancras in London with 18,884 votes and was enthusiastically supported by his followers, who could see he was on course to being named Prime Minister. “The change begins right here. Because this is your democracy, your community and your future. You have voted. It is now time for us to deliver,” said Starmer in his acceptance speech.

The customary election night exit poll forecasted 410 seats for the Opposition party, with the outlook as the trends and results tally shaping up to around 408 seats for Labour, and the Tories pushed down to around 150. The Liberal Democrats are also among the big winners of this election, set to secure over 50 members of Parliament. Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP), which campaigned on the Independence for Scotland ticket, is on course to lose several seats to Labour.

A major trend that will dominate discourse in the coming weeks and months is Nigel Farage finally being elected as an MP on his eighth attempt. Leading his anti-immigration Reform UK, Farage secured first-time seats in the Commons, overturning a 25,000 Conservative majority to take Clacton in Essex by more than 8,000 votes. This reflects a broader trend of his party eating into Tory votes. Farage, a divisive figure, described his win as “the first step of something that is going to stun all of you,” and “the beginning of the end” of the Conservative Party, asserting that “there is a massive gap on the centre-right of British politics and my job is to fill it.”