Election Night

Election night was a joyous occasion. After proudly casting my vote at the local polling station, I headed to the supermarket to purchase a bottle of Benedictine for a famous Bene-‘n’-hot, a delicacy of my hometown Burnley. I was confident I’d be raising a toast to a new Britain come sunrise.

Back home, changed in to something comfortable, I settled with my tipple and I then had to make the hardest decision that I had to do all day: which channel to watch for election coverage. After some minor deliberation, I opted for Channel 4, enticed by the promise of unique insights from fellow Claret Alastair Campbell and his ‘The Rest is Politics’ co-host Rory Stewart.

My choice proved to be the right one when Campbell engaged in his first skirmish with former Conservative front-bencher Nadine Dorries, which made for hilarious viewing:


Big Ben soon struck 10 pm, and it’s historic chimes reverberated across the British Isles, heralding more than just the hour. They marked the close of polling stations nationwide and the beginning of a seismic shift in British politics. Exit polls from Land’s End to John o’Groats flashed across our screens, making it clear that the British electorate had decisively voted for change, ushering in a new era.

The exit polls suggested Labour was set to win 410 seats with a 170-seat majority, an even bigger margin than Boris Johnson’s 2019 victory. The Conservatives were projected to lose 234 seats, reducing their total to just 131 - a stark contrast to their previous 365 seats and 80-seat majority in the House of Commons.

Tory Losses

The night couldn’t have gone worse for the Tories, with many prominent front-benchers and party mainstays falling victim to the electorate’s wrath. Here’s an overview of some of the night’s biggest losses.

Liz Truss

In the early hours of July 5th, Liz Truss finally faced her comeuppance, bringing a wry smile to my face. She lost her South West Norfolk seat, a Conservative stronghold since 1964. Truss saw a staggering 43.4% drop in her vote share compared to five years prior, with a 26.2 swing to Labour. This outcome clearly demonstrated the contempt her constituents and the wider British public held her in.

The result also represented a thorough rejection of her Tufton Street and Institute of Economic Affairs-inspired libertarian ideology, likely signaling the end of her time as a leading figure in British politics. Despite this, Truss seems intent on milking her right-wing Ayn Randian schtick, even speaking at the Republican National Convention in America. Amusingly, it appears Republican delegates though have no clue who she is, as evidenced by this video:


Grant Shapps

Grant Shapps, the Tory cabinet’s supposed jack-of-all-trades (and master of none?), lost his Welwyn Hatfield seat after a 19-year tenure. As the current Defence Secretary and former occupant of seemingly every cabinet position, Shapps’ defeat symbolised the Conservative collapse.

Shapps’ versatility extended beyond politics. In his spare time, he moonlighted as “Michael Green” hawking get-rich-quick schemes that would make even snake oil salesmen blush.

Though to his credit, Shapps delivered a graceful and dignified concession speech:


Perhaps now, with his political career ended, Shapps might revive his Michael Green persona - though one hopes he’s learned that politics and pyramid schemes don’t mix.

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Another significant blow to the Tories came with Jacob Rees-Mogg’s defeat. The Member of Parliament for North East Somerset since 2010, a prominent Brexiteer and one of the Conservative party’s most influential figures, lost his seat to a Labour candidate with a 19.5 swing. This loss was particularly symbolic, given Rees-Mogg’s status as a standard-bearer for traditional Conservatism within the party.

Penny Mordaunt

Perhaps the night’s biggest shock came with Penny Mordaunt losing her Portsmouth North seat to a Labour candidate. Mordaunt wasn’t expected to lose her seat and had even been tipped as a potential future Conservative leader. She held a prominent role in Government as Leader of the House of Commons.

Mordaunt’s ousting dealt a significant blow not only to her personal ambitions but also to the Conservative party as a whole. Where would the Tories go from here?

The party had been utterly demolished, losing many prominent figures as the electorate thoroughly rejected their leadership and policies.

Jeremy Hunt’s Victory Message

Jeremy Hunt, who was serving as the chancellor of the exchequer, one of the few prominent Tories that retained their seat in Parliament made an interesting speech on retaining his seat:

“Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are decent people… I hope they use their majority to make much needed reforms to the NHS in the way that is difficult for Conservative governments to do”

A very telling remark that gave some insight into the state of the modern day Tory party. Deep down, Hunt knows that the Tories haven’t supported the NHS in he the ways in which they should and it made me think if this is yet another issue that has fractured that party and lead to the tumultuous nature of our Parliament over the past 14 years.

The Labour Landslide

Shortly after 5 am, as Labour crossed the 326-seat threshold required to form a government, Rishi Sunak conceded defeat and called Keir Starmer to offer his congratulations.

To Sunak’s credit, despite appearing shaken by the crushing electoral blow, he took full responsibility for the defeat and offered his condolences to Conservative party MPs and staff who had lost their seats and jobs.

More importantly he noted that,

…power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner, with goodwill on all sides… That is something which should give us all confidence in our country’s stability and future.

I wholeheartedly agree, though it’s regrettable that a certain President across the pond didn’t share this sentiment in 2021…

The election resulted in the third-biggest swing in UK political history. Sir Keir Starmer’s rejuvenated Labour Party secured a staggering 172-seat majority, giving the new Labour government an enormous mandate to steer the nation in a different direction.

Keir, visibly elated after a long night, delivered an excellent speech. He declared that “Change would begin now” and thanked Labour party members and voters while acknowledging the gravity of the moment:

(But) a mandate like this comes with great responsibility… Today we start the next chapter… begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal, and start to rebuild our country.

Indeed it does, Keir. As the electoral swing from 2019 to 2024 has shown, in our modern, fast-paced digital world where results are paramount and patience is short, a government given a significant majority must act upon its mandate and treat it with the respect it deserves. Otherwise, they risk being ousted and finding themselves out of a job. I’m optimistic that Keir will stay true to his word.

Keir Starmer’s First Speech as Prime Minister

After receiving King Charles III’s invitation to form the next Government of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer made his way to Downing Street. As I watched, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Tony Blair’s triumphant arrival in 1997. Starmer, accompanied by his wife Victoria and greeted by cheering Labour Party members, approached the iconic black door of Number 10 with a similar air of anticipation and promise.

Standing at the lectern, Starmer delivered his first official speech as Prime Minister, building on the themes of his earlier victory address:


I was genuinely moved by Starmer’s words. His commitment to restoring trust in politics and rekindling hope that had waned under previous administrations resonated deeply with me. I found his emphasis on government as a positive force in people’s lives particularly refreshing - a sentiment that, in my view, has been sorely missed not just in the UK, but across Europe and around the globe.

What struck me most was how Starmer addressed the widespread disillusionment I’ve observed around me. How often have you overheard or seen on social media comments such as “there’s no point in voting, they’re all the same”? This cynicism was reflected in the election’s turnout of only 60%, meaning 40% of eligible voters chose not to participate - a statistic I find deeply worrying for the health of our democracy.

To me, the heart of Starmer’s message, and seemingly his mission, was to return politics to its roots as a public service. His pledge to lead a government of dignity, one that prioritises the best interests of its citizens, felt like a breath of fresh air:

When the gap between the sacrifices made by people and the service they receive from politicians grows this big, it leads to a weariness in the heart of a nation, a draining away of hope, spirit, and belief in a better future. But we need to move forward together. Your government should treat each and every person in this country with respect.

These powerful words filled me with hope for a new era in British politics, one focused on rebuilding trust and truly serving the public interest. For the first time in a long time, I felt genuinely optimistic about our Britain’s future.

First Past the Post Criticisms

As data emerged in the days following the election, long-standing critiques of the first-past-the-post system resurfaced from across the political spectrum. Parties like the Greens and Reform UK, along with various fringe elements, voiced their discontent.

Interestingly, both cantankerous cranks on the far-left and more nefarious voices on the right expressed disdain for the electoral system, without bothering to delve into a deeper and more nuanced analysis of the results, and instead decried the unfairness of their limited parliamentary representation despite their respective vote shares.

These criticisms miss a crucial point. In our first-past-the-post system, the total vote percentage is a red herring. What really matters is winning constituencies, a strategy Keir Starmer and Labour seemed to grasp fully. The system infact, worked exactly as intended, preventing more extreme parties like Reform from gaining significant power in Parliament (5 seats, despite a 14.6% vote share).

Critics might have made a stronger case by acknowledging Labour’s apparent strategy of targeting winnable seats rather than maximising overall vote share. After all, the primary goal in politics is to get elected; it’s only through gaining power that meaningful change can be enacted and in this particular instance, a much needed change of the Overton Window. However, it seems that many fringe elements, especially those on the far-left, would prefer to lose elections if their party doesn’t align 100% with their ideology. I think that this rigidity leads them to believe that they have free rein xto complain from a perceived moral high ground, but ultimately renders them politically impotent… Madness and juvenille if you ask me!

Tactical Voting?

Tactical voting played a crucial role in shaping the election outcome, further highlighting how nuanced elections can be. In many constituencies, voters strategically backed candidates most likely to defeat the Conservatives, regardless of party loyalty. This strategy proved particularly effective in unseating numerous Tory MPs, including some of ‘the big beasts’, as alluded to earlier.

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats’ success further illustrates the efficiency of targeted campaigning in a first-past-the-post system. They exceeded initial projections, winning their largest number of seats ever with a 72 seat haul, not far behind the Tories on 131. This was achieved with a relatively modest national vote share of about 12%, showcasing how effective local campaigning and strategic voting can be more important than overall popularity.

A prominent third voice in Parliament can only be a good thing, and I believe that the Sir Ed Davey-led Liberal Democrats will stand to be good opposition for Keir’s Labour and hold them to account in a dignified and proper manner, far removed from the ‘sixth form-esque’ approach that the British public had grown weary of.

All over for the Scottish National Party?

The election results dealt a staggering blow to the Scottish National Party (SNP). Labour rolled back into place as the most popular party in Scotland, securing 37 out of 57 seats, while the SNP lost 37 seats to finish with just 9. Labour’s gains, particularly in metropolitan areas like Glasgow and Edinburgh, suggest that the prospect of another Scottish independence referendum is all but over for the foreseeable future.

However, credit where it’s due: the SNP’s strong presence in Westminster over the past decade has pressured the UK government to be more supportive of and thoughtful about Scotland’s needs. This may have actually strengthened the Union by forcing a more considerate approach to governance across the UK and I’m sure it’s something that both Keir and the Labour party will be thinking of when forming policy in Government.

Pressure on Labour?

Though Labour received a strong mandate in terms of seats, they undoubtedly face challenges ahead. The fragmented nature of the vote in many constituencies means that many Labour MPs were elected with relatively low vote shares.

This reality, coupled with the need to address concerns of voters who backed other parties, including Reform UK, Jeremy Corbyn as an independent, as well as four seats to pro-Gaza independents means Keir Starmer will need to govern with a broad coalition in mind despite his party’s significant majority in Parliament, otherwise he may face dissenting voices and growing external pressures.

Reform

It’s impossible to ignore the rise of Reform UK, that did take a concerning 14.6% of the vote share and absolutely stifled the Conservatives at the election.

Though they may campaign on textbook populism through the hands of Nigel Farage, if Keir & Labour doesn’t address some of the misguided concerns of what would historically be members of the traditional ‘working-class’, then they will only continue to grow and potentially unseat Labour MPs at any future by-elections and general elections.

Final Thoughts

I firmly believe that the outcome of this election is a pivotal moment for the future of the United Kingdom and its citizens. While change won’t happen overnight, it will require time, effort, and collective dedication. Fortunately, with a government prioritising the public’s needs over personal interests, we can anticipate significant transformations.

This administration’s focus on the collective good, striving to provide a level playing field for everyone regardless of their background, marks a crucial step towards a more just and equitable society.

I am optimistic that this shift will bring about a transformative change across British society. We have strayed from a culture of trust and cooperation in recent years, particularly since the pandemic, as we’ve witnessed a growing trend of insularity & despair.

However, I believe that by rebuilding trust in our institutions and demonstrating that politicians are genuinely committed to serving the needs of all citizens, Britain can create a more cohesive and collaborative society. This renewed confidence will go along way to help heal the deep-seated divisions that have developed & grown over time.

As we look to the future, I am optimistic about the possibilities that lie ahead. It is indeed a new dawn.