Great Britain - Keir Starmer is the new Prime Minister - Sunak steps down as party leader after election debacle
After the Conservative Tories suffered a defeat in the British Parliamentary election, Rishi Sunak is taking consequences within his party. He will step down as party leader once the formal regulations for succession are clarified, the former prime minister announced in London in the morning. The Conservatives had previously achieved historically poor results in the House of Commons election.
Keir Starmer is now the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. King Charles III. commissioned the Social Democrats for government formation. The 61-year-old had won a clear victory with his Labour Party in the Parliamentary election and displaced the Conservative Party, which had ruled in Britain for 14 years.
The party lost its majority and now comes to almost 120 of the 650 seats. In the previous election, they had won 365 seats in the House of Commons. New Prime Minister will be Labour leader Keir Starmer, whose social democratic Labour Party won the election with a significant lead and now comes to at least 412 seats.
Sunak began his speech with an apology to voters. "I'm sorry." He had given everything, but the verdict was clear. "I've heard your anger and your disappointment, and I accept responsibility for this loss," he said. He wished success to his successor Keir Starmer.
Sunak leaves Downing Street
The Conservatives had governed in Britain for 14 years. Sunak took over the party leadership and thus the office of prime minister in October 2022.
He was the successor of Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose politics caused turbulence on the financial markets and who had to resign after 49 days in office. Before that, Boris Johnson had also had to resign due to various scandals.
The dissatisfaction with the two predecessors Sunak, according to political scientist John Curtice of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, was the main reason for the Conservative Party's crushing defeat.
Sunak was perceived as elitist
Sunak, who previously worked in the financial sector and is married to entrepreneur Akshata Murty, has a multi-million fortune. This also strengthened his reputation as elitist.
Sunak won his own constituency clearly. Sunak said he looked forward to spending more time in his constituency in the coming weeks. The Conservative Party will now be the opposition in the House of Commons and faces a directional struggle. It is expected that another right-wing shift is imminent.
Who will be the new opposition leader?
After the heavy seat losses, the party is depleted. Several potential successors have lost their seats. Among them were Defense Minister Grant Shapps and the former Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Penny Mordaunt.
Defense Minister Kemi Badenoch, who previously had good chances, defended her mandate. She is on the right wing within the party, as is the former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who is also considered a promising candidate for party leadership.
As more moderate potential candidates, the former Home Secretary James Cleverly and the former State Secretary Tom Tugendhat are considered. In an interview with Sky News, Cleverly was rather evasive when asked if he would run.
The Tories are under pressure from the right by the right-wing party Reform UK. Its leader Nigel Farage alienated voters on the right with his surprising candidacy. He played a significant role in pushing for Brexit and is known as a supporter of the former US President Donald Trump. He also entered parliament and will lead a small group of MPs. His declared goal is to take over or render the Conservative Party obsolete.
Following the Conservative Party's election defeat in Great Britain, Rishi Sunak announced his resignation as party chairman in London. Despite his efforts, the Conservative Party suffered significant losses in the Parliamentary election, losing their majority and over 200 seats compared to the previous election. With Keir Starmer now serving as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak leaves Downing Street after his tenure as party leader and prime minister, following consecutive resignations of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss due to various scandals and political instability.
