All data on the election in Great Britain

In the morning after the election day, the counting of votes in the United Kingdom's Parliamentary election is underway. However, it is already clear that the Labour Party is winning a landslide victory in the UK Parliamentary election. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives are suffering significant losses. Here are the data and infographics for the election in overview.

Political earthquake in the United Kingdom: According to initial results of the vote count from the night before, the Labour Party is set to win a landslide victory in the UK's snap election for the new composition of the British House of Commons. According to British media reports, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is expected to replace Sunak as Prime Minister in the London Downing Street. The Conservatives must acknowledge heavy losses after 14 years in power. Based on the counting of nearly 80% of the votes, Labour is projected to have 397 seats in the British House of Commons in the future. This means that there will be almost 200 more Labour MPs in Parliament than before. The threshold for a majority is 326 seats.

Note: The infographics for the 2024 House of Commons election are being updated regularly.

The Conservatives will therefore only have 104 seats in the House of Commons. Polling stations in the four constituent parts of the UK - England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland - closed late on Thursday evening around 10:00 PM local time (11:00 PM CET). The vote count is still ongoing in the morning. A preliminary result from all 650 electoral districts is not expected until later in the day.

With the early morning interim results, a clear election outcome is already apparent. Sunak acknowledged the defeat of his party in the night. Conservative Party colleague Mel Stride expressed his disappointment: "This is a very difficult moment for the Conservative Party," said the cabinet member.

A total of approximately 46.6 million registered voters were called upon to determine the power balance in the British House of Commons on July 4th. The trigger for the snap election was an unexpected decision by the incumbent Prime Minister Sunak.

The Conservative Party leader sought a sort of liberation stroke - and apparently inadvertently set off a power shift on the British Isles. Sunak's chances of re-election were already poor in the polls before the election: In the latest polling data, the opposition Labour Party (Lab) was leading the ruling Conservatives (Conservatives, Con) by a wide margin. In fact, the ruling party received less than a quarter of the votes according to the current vote count. Labour received around 34% of the votes.

The right-wing populist "Reform UK" Party (Ref. UK) also made significant gains and is projected to emerge as the third strongest force with more than 14% of the votes. The former Brexit Party with Nigel Farage at the helm is expected to enter Parliament for the first time with a predicted four seats. The Liberal Democrats, who received around 12% of the votes, are also projected to gain significant seats, with 66 seats predicted after the election.

Labour-Chef and Opposition Leader Keir Starmer gives a humble response after his election win: "You have chosen. It's now time for us to deliver", Starmer addressed his supporters in the morning after the election. "To all who campaigned for the Labour Party in this election, to all who voted for us and placed their trust in our transformed Labour Party: Thank you", he also shared on the online platform X.

During the campaign, Starmer spoke of a "chance for a better change". If the forecasts are correct, he could already take over the reins of government as the new British Prime Minister in a few days. After 14 years, it's time for a change, Starmer argued for Labour before the election. "Stop the chaos", he called on the Britons in the campaign, "start a new chapter and begin the rebuilding."

Premier Sunak focused on far-reaching tax cuts and a tough immigration policy to win votes. At the same time, he presented himself as a guarantee for security and economic strength. For wide parts of the British public, the years after the Brexit referendum were marked by uncertainty, the Coronavirus pandemic, general economic stagnation, and sharply rising living costs.

"This is the moment for Great Britain", Sunak declared at a memorable speech before his office in Downing Street in the pouring rain at the end of May, "to choose its future and decide whether we want to build on the achievements or risk returning to the beginning without a plan and without certainty."

For the 44-year-old Sunak, this election was the first real test on a national level. In October 2022, he was appointed party leader by the Tories without an election and then became prime minister.

"I am the one who is ready to take bold actions", Sunak declared at his re-election announcement. "I have a clear plan and that's why I will provide security for you and your family."

Sunak's announcements, however, did not seem to be enough to turn the ship around. "The people of Britain are longing for a change", said the Liberal Democrat Party leader Ed Davey. "And this election is our chance to finally bring it about." The election results indeed indicate a very pronounced shift in sentiment.

Surprisingly enough, this is not the case. The list of scandals, political failures, and mistakes of the British government under Sunak is long. The Conservative Tories have been in power in the House of Commons, the British Parliament officially called, since the Labour defeat under Gordon Brown and the victory of David Cameron in May 2010.

The regular scheduled House of Commons elections in 2010 and 2015 allowed Cameron's Tory faction to defend their majority each time - and even in the Brexit chaos after Cameron's controversial EU referendum and the extraordinary elections in June 2017 and December 2019, the Conservatives managed to keep the ship afloat.

Note: This schematic representation shows the results of the previous House of Commons election in 2019.

British politics remained restless during this period: Since the 2016 vote on the United Kingdom's exit from the EU, the British have experienced five Conservative Party leaders. After Cameron came Theresa May, later Boris Johnson, then Liz Truss for a few weeks, and finally Rishi Sunak took over the reins of power in Downing Street No. 10 from Truss in the autumn of 2022.

Reasons for the decline of the Conservatives in popular favour abound. Observers particularly emphasize the numerous scandals and affairs, especially under the former prime minister Johnson, which destroyed the trust of the people in the Tory Party, which had governed the United Kingdom for 14 years.

Johnson's successor Liz Truss was in office for too short a time to leave a better impression. And Rishi Sunak seems to have failed so far to pull the Tories' oar in the right direction. In the spring local elections, Sunak as leader of the Conservatives had to accept significant losses for his party in the constituencies.

The Parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom on 4th July 2024 were held for all 650 seats in the British House of Commons. Elections were held in the entire United Kingdom, that is, in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. One seat is won per constituency. The 650 members of the House of Commons represent their respective constituencies.

According to the parliamentary electoral commission, 543 seats are allocated to England (previously: 533), Scotland will send 57 seats (instead of the previous 59), 32 seats come from Wales (previously 40), and Northern Ireland continues to contribute 18 "Members of Parliament". The number and boundaries of the constituencies - the so-called Constituencies - are aligned with population figures.

Regularly elected for five years

According to British electoral law, the relative majority decides at the polling station: Voters, male and female, each have only one vote to cast. Winners in the 650 constituencies are those who receive the most votes. The "Winner takes it all" rule of the majority electoral system favours local candidates and larger parties. The votes of the losing candidates are forfeited.

The members of the British House of Commons were elected for a regular term of five years. Eligible voters had to register beforehand. The deadline for registration was 18th June. Subsequently, Britons, Scots, Welsh, and Northern Irish were free to vote at the polling station on the day or to vote by postal ballot beforehand.

Elections in the United Kingdom are traditionally held on a Thursday. The polling stations opened on schedule at 7.00 am (local time, 8.00 am CET). The voting ended only late in the evening at 10.00 pm (CET: 11.00 pm). Immediately afterwards, the counting of the votes began. Preliminary results from individual constituencies were available early in the morning. The counting was expected to be completed, according to the BBC's estimate, by Friday morning.

The Labour Party's landslide victory in the British House of Commons election is expected to lead to Keir Starmer replacing Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, following the Conservative Party's significant losses.
The Conservative Party, which has been in power for 14 years, is projected to have only 104 seats in the new House of Commons, compared to the Labor Party's estimated 397 seats, based on the early morning interim results.
Brexit has played a role in the election, as the right-wing populist "Reform UK" Party, led by Nigel Farage, is predicted to enter Parliament for the first time with four seats, reflecting voters' concerns and shifts.
In the aftermath of the election, Rishi Sunak acknowledged the defeat of his party, with cabinet member Mel Stride expressing disappointment, stating, "This is a very difficult moment for the Conservative Party."