UK election: Labour party set for landslide victory

New Delhi, July 05: In a landslide victory, the Labour Party has secured a dominant position in the UK general election, as projected by a BBC forecast. Keir Starmer is set to become the new Prime Minister.

Labour is anticipated to win 410 seats, while the Conservatives are expected to secure 144. Rishi Sunak, after retaining his seat in Richmond, Yorkshire, conceded defeat and announced that he had called Starmer to congratulate him. In his brief speech, Sunak acknowledged, "Labour has won this election."

Starmer, after winning his seat in Holborn and St Pancras, declared, "The change begins right here... it is time for us to deliver."

According to UK media,  Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and former leadership contender Penny Mordaunt are among the high-profile Conservatives who lost to Labour. Additionally, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been elected as an MP for the first time, winning Clacton, with Richard Tice and Lee Anderson from the same party also securing seats.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn won Islington North as an independent, while Labour's Jon Ashworth lost to an independent candidate. George Galloway of the Workers Party lost the seat he had won earlier this year, and Carla Denyer secured a win for the Green Party in Bristol Central. The SNP is predicted to drop from 43 seats to just six.

Labour's triumph is largely due to a dramatic 20-point decline in Conservative support, despite their own vote share increasing by just under four points nationwide. This surge is primarily attributed to a significant 20-point rise in support in Scotland. Conversely, in Wales, Labour's vote share has decreased by four points, while in England, their vote share remains largely unchanged from 2019.

The Times of India reported that the outgoing House of Commons featured 15 MPs of Indian origin, a number that is expected to rise. In the UK General Election 2024, 107 British-Indian candidates are competing for the 680 available seats.

Prominent British Indians who have won so far include Shivani Raja, who captured Leicester East from the Labour Party. Raja, a Leicester native, was educated at Herrick Primary, Soar Valley College, Wyggeston, and Queen Elizabeth I College.

Labour's Kanishka Narayan, of Indian origin, made history as Wales' first MP from a minority ethnic background. Narayan, born in India, moved to Cardiff at the age of 12. He earned a scholarship to Eton, studied at Oxford and Stanford, and worked as a civil servant before entering politics.