Politics Election in Great Britain underway - Labour heading for victory
The general election is underway in the UK. Polling stations opened at 7.00 am (local time, 8.00 am CEST). Pollsters are expecting a landslide victory for the Labour Party, which has been in opposition until now.
04.07.2024, 08:58
SDA
Its leader Keir Starmer is therefore likely to replace the previous Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Downing Street. Sunak's Conservatives were recently around 20 points behind the Social Democrats in the polls.
More than 46 million people are eligible to vote, each of whom has one vote. All seats in the lower house are allocated by direct mandate. The candidate with the most votes in one of the 650 constituencies always wins. The absolute majority in the House of Commons is 326 seats.
Projections predict that Labour will win far more than 400 seats. The party is therefore on course to achieve the largest majority in the House of Commons for around 190 years.
Experts emphasized that the Conservatives were only out to limit the damage. In hourly posts, Sunak warned of a "super-majority" for Labour without far-reaching control. There is no such "super-majority" in the British parliamentary system. It makes no difference to legislation whether one party holds 20 or 200 seats more than the other forces combined. In hourly posts on X, Sunak also claimed that the Social Democrats were planning tax increases across the board. According to commentators, this is not true, and Labor leader Starmer rejects the accusation.
Labor leader announces "age of hope"
The 61-year-old announced a "new age of hope and opportunity". "This is a great nation with limitless potential," said Starmer on the eve of the election. "The British people deserve a government that matches their ambitions. Today we have the chance to work with Labour to start rebuilding Britain."
There are many reasons for the Conservatives' decline. Above all, numerous scandals and affairs, especially under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have destroyed people's trust in the Tory party, which has been in power for 14 years.
Right-wing populists take many votes away from the Conservatives
The performance of the Liberal Democrats, who according to some calculations even have a chance of replacing the Conservatives as the largest opposition group, is also eagerly awaited. The right-wing populist Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage, who once played a key role in driving Brexit forward, is likely to enter the House of Commons for the first time. Experts expect the former Brexit party to cost the Conservatives many votes on the right.
A forecast is expected when the polling stations close at 11 p.m. (CEST). The individual constituencies will continue to be counted until Friday morning. King Charles III officially commissions the new Prime Minister to form a government on Friday.
