Congratulations to Britain and Keir Starmers Labour party

[danieldemol]

Congratulations to Britain and *edit* Keir Starmers Labour party.

I hope to see the poor of Britain benefit from this landslide Labour victory.

 

[Altfish]

Come on Keir, we are relying on you.

 

[Left Coast]

Summary from Reuters for those who haven't heard:

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/new-pm-starmer-pledges-action-not-words-fix-britain-2024-07-05/

 

[Left Coast]

Also it's Keir* Starmer, I believe.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Congratulations to Britain and Keith Starmers Labour party.

I hope to see the poor of Britain benefit from this landslide Labour victory.

Hope springs eternal. Reality will deal the cards on the table.

Seven card stud anyone?

Opening bet is one pound.

 

[danieldemol]

Also it's Keir* Starmer, I believe.

Thanks for the catch, I have edited the OP accordingly

 

[Left Coast]

Thanks for the catch, I have edited the OP accordingly

Thanks for starting a thread about politics from somewhere other than the USA!

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I wish I had a better sense of the vote.

Kudos to labor, but also to the Liberal Democrats who gained 60 seats from the Conservatives. Yes, Farage and his Reform U.K. did relatively well, but "relatively" should be emphasized. It was the center-left that surged, and that can only be seen as good news. Let's hope they can live up to their promise.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Now, let me interrupt the congratulations and air again one of my old bugbears -- Labour won in a landslide, except that only 34% of eligible voters turned out! This is what "first-past-the-post" can do in a Westminster style democracy. The size of the victory gives the new PM nearly unfettered power in the House, based on only a third of the nation's approval.

I will continue to be an advocate for some form of proportional representation.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I will continue to be an advocate for some form of proportional representation.

Just look at how wll that works in Israel.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Just look at how wll that works in Israel.

I think the biggest issue there is that too many Israeli parties are focused on religion. That is generally not the case in Canada, Britain, Australia and other countries with a Westminster style democracy.

 

[LuisDantas]

I wish I could be more optimistic. But sure, it is a solid piece of good news in a world that needs those.

 

[ImmortalFlame]

I'm afraid I will have to start the "doomsaying pessimism" arc of the new Labour government somewhat prematurely.

Warning: if you're still basking in the glow of a massive Tory defeat, do not continue reading. Remain happy for a little longer, and only worry about this stuff later. It'll probably do you a lot more good than the following:

Spoiler

I present: a breakdown of this (and every other UK election since 1918) by voter percentage:

UK election results by vote share 1918-2024 | Statista

The Labour Party won 33.7 percent of the vote in the 2024 general election, with the Conservative vote share falling to 23.7 percent.

www.statista.com

The important bits:
Labour's share of the vote only actually increased by 1.6% compared to their massive defeat in 2019, where it had fallen from a 40% share in 2017 to 32.2%.
The deciding factor was clearly not Labour's performance, but the fact that the Conservative party lost its voter share by almost 20%, and yet the statistics suggest that not many of those votes went to Labour.
Instead, the votes went overwhelmingly to other parties, who surged from a mere 12.7% of the share in 2019 to a 30.4% share.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it had been the lowest voter turnout in 20 years.

The 2024 general election in numbers: From history-making results to huge vote swings

The Independent’s data correspondent looks at last night’s shock figures, from the closest seats to the biggest swings

www.independent.co.uk

And that, while the Conservative numbers were down, the significant ballooning of support for the Reform party means that the actual share of votes for right-wing and far-right wing parties remained roughly the same.

In other words: this wasn't a Labour win, it was a Tory loss. Very few more people voted Labour this year than they did during their dramatic loss at the last election, and significantly fewer people voted for Labour than they did under Jeremy Corbyn. What we're looking at isn't a new and reformed Labour party with an effective new leader doling out an embarrassing loss to the Conservatives. What we're seeing is Labour getting the benefit of a split vote within the Conservatives that saw a surge of popularity for far-right political groups, and seizing power during what can be considered a transitional period between the current right-leaning governments and their far-right future replacements.

Doomerism activated.

Sorry.

 

[oldbadger]

I'm afraid I will have to start the "doomsaying pessimism" arc of the new Labour government somewhat prematurely.

Warning: if you're still basking in the glow of a massive Tory defeat, do not continue reading. Remain happy for a little longer, and only worry about this stuff later. It'll probably do you a lot more good than the following:

Huh?
Governments rise and they go away. I remember the wonders of risen stars like Blair and Thatcher, but I haven't heard a kind comment about either in a long time. I remember that soon after Thatcher's death she was rubbished by some members on RF...true!

So it was kind of you to apologise for your spoiler (I forgive you! ) but we Brits treat politics a bit like the weather. We just get both!

 

[ImmortalFlame]

Huh?
Governments rise and they go away. I remember the wonders of risen stars like Blair and Thatcher, but I haven't heard a kind comment about either in a long time. I remember that soon after Thatcher's death she was rubbished by some members on RF...true!

So it was kind of you to apologise for your spoiler (I forgive you! ) but we Brits treat politics a bit like the weather. We just get both!

You're not inaccurate at all. It's nice there's at least some optimism in Britain after the last 10 years.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Just look at how wll that works in Israel.

And France

 

[Yerda]

I'm expecting a centre-right government that will retreat on every key manifesto promise, continue with the "send them home" immigration rhetoric, carve up the NHS and give it to Wes Streeting's health insurance friends, back Israel's lunatic behaviour to the hilt, cut taxes for the wealthy, hand billions of public contracts to large party donors, continue the domestic policy that makes the UK the hardest place to find a home in Europe, cut public services even further in another round of austerity, and lay the ground for a Reform government in 5 years time. Then tell us our lives are better because of them.

This way I will be pleasantly surprised if they manage to get off the leash and do something good for the rest of us.

 

[oldbadger]

You're not inaccurate at all. It's nice there's at least some optimism in Britain after the last 10 years.

Yes, there is. And I am impressed about the speed that the senior cabinet ministers have dived straight in to their duties.
Vigorous or what?

 

[oldbadger]

I'm expecting a centre-right government that will retreat on every key manifesto promise, ...........

The thing is, Labour (a center-left government) was criticised all through the election campaign for NOT making election promises. So they have gained power with a slightly more free hand than usual.

 

[Estro Felino]

let's hope they are real socialists...
at last...
after too many banking élites ....