U.K. Labour Party wins landslide election over Conservatives: exit poll

The U.K.’s center-left Labour Party won a landslide victory in Thursday’s general election, delivering a huge blow to the ruling Conservative Party after 14 years in power, according to an official exit poll.

The big picture: Incumbents are on a losing streak all over the world — particularly in Europe, where inflation has fueled voter discontent. In Britain, however, the Conservatives’ looming defeat is largely of their own making.

By the numbers: The British networks’ exit poll indicated Labour won 410 seats in Parliament, a majority of 170.

• The Conservatives are on track for 131 seats, down a staggering 234 from Boris Johnson’s 2019 victory.
• The centrist Liberal Democrats are set to win 61 seats, while Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist Reform Party were projected to win 13.

What to watch: Labour Party leader Keir Starmer will become the country’s next prime minister.

Flashback: The Consverative Party has shuffled through 5 prime ministers since the 2016 Brexit referendum, and three since 2022.

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spent the past 20 months trying to pick up the pieces after his short-lived predecessor Liz Truss panicked the markets with a tax-slashing budget, and her predecessor Boris Johnson was swept out by a slew of scandals.
• Before that, it was David Cameron who gambled the country’s future by calling — and losing — the 2016 Brexit referendum, widely seen as a precursor to Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S.
• Cameron’s successor, Theresa May, resigned in 2019 after Parliament repeatedly rejected her proposed divorce deal with the European Union.

Zoom in: The combined shocks of the pandemic and Brexit battered the economy and decimated public finances. Regardless of their platforms, neither party will have much cash to play with.

• Sunak argued Labour would endanger an economic recovery that’s just starting to take hold.

• Voters didn’t seem to buy it, in part because Labour is also campaigning on fiscal responsibility and moderation.

A former prosecutor and human rights lawyer, Starmer pulled the party back to the center ground after replacing left-winger Jeremy Corbyn as leader in 2020.

• His critics say he lacks vision and charisma. His backers say his unruffled, pragmatic style is just what the country needs after a prolonged political circus under Johnson and his successors.
• Starmer’s platform is short on eye-catching proposals. He says his priority is to build the foundations for long-term economic growth.

What they’re saying: In a telling sign of his low expectations, Sunak tweeted two days before the election: “Stop the supermajority. Vote Conservative on 4th July.”

The bottom line: After that election five years ago, the Conservatives were flush with confidence and Labour was lost in the political wilderness. On July 4, the roles officially reversed.

Go deeper: U.K. elections could mean a big tax bill for private equity

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with results.