Politics Election triumph for Labour heralds a new era in the UK

If you have an almost impossible task ahead of you, you have to climb a mountain. "We have a mountain to climb" is something Keir Starmer has repeatedly emphasized since he became leader of the British Labour Party. Now his Social Democrats have not just reached any mountain peak. "He has just conquered Everest and launched himself into space," is how the well-known reporter Beth Rigby from Sky News describes the result of the British general election.

After 14 years of Conservative government, the keys to the famous black door with the number 10 in Downing Street will once again go to Labor. Around midday on Friday, King Charles III, as head of state, is expected to officially commission party leader Starmer to form a government. The 61-year-old will be able to govern. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak congratulated him early in the morning.

According to BBC forecasts, the Social Democrats are likely to have 410 of the 650 MPs in parliament - a good double the previous number. "Labor will have enough seats to form the strongest opposition group," jokes journalist Iain Dale.

The tabloid newspaper "The Sun" headlines: "Britain sees red." Former Labor leader Peter Mandelson speaks on the BBC of an "electoral meteor" that has struck the country.

Sunak's time as party leader is coming to an end

The political situation in the United Kingdom is upside down. The Conservative Party of former Prime Minister Sunak has been devastatingly defeated: according to forecasts, the parliamentary group has shrunk to 144 members - barely more than a third of the previous seats. Sunak himself will remain in parliament. Nevertheless, the result of the "difficult night", as he called it, is likely to cost him the office of chairman. There are several candidates in the party for his post.

How large the Labour majority will ultimately be, whether 20 or 200 seats, is irrelevant in the British parliamentary system. But of course a comfortable buffer makes governing easier for Starmer. The smaller the lead, the greater the risk of being blackmailed by obstructionists in his own ranks on controversial issues. The path now seems clear for Starmer to realize his self-declared ambition and lead the UK through a "decade of national renewal".

In fact, the huge majority could mask the risks for the prime minister-designate. "Labour faces massive political challenges and is supported by an alliance in the electorate that is very broad but very shallow," says political scientist Anand Menon of King's College London. "So it's easy to see what the dangers are."

Broad currents within the Labour Party

Starmer must first of all keep all currents within the party happy. Labor cannot simply be equated with its German sister party, the SPD. The spectrum in Germany - if one were to attempt a comparison - would range roughly from the Left Party to the more conservative-oriented Seeheimer Kreis in the SPD.

The left wing around former party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who lost resoundingly to then Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019 and was subsequently forced out of the party by Starmer, is likely to rebel if Labour moves too far to the political center. The Conservatives have cleared the way for this with their strong right-wing course in recent years.

Above all, however, Starmer must now convince the British people, who did not vote for Labour because of him, but to punish the Conservatives after 14 years of chaos, scandals and economic stagnation. It wasn't Labour that was voted in, the Tories were voted out, said Professor John Curtice from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, probably the best-known pollster in the country, even before the forecast.

In fact, Labour has also suffered some setbacks. Top politician Jonathan Ashworth surprisingly loses his constituency to an independent, pro-Palestinian candidate. Even party leader Starmer received significantly fewer votes than last time. He was also defeated by a candidate who criticized Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip.

Large majority despite very few votes

Under British majority voting law, only the winner of a constituency makes it into the House of Commons. Votes for the losing candidates have no effect. In reality, however, it is very close: although Labour is likely to achieve almost a two-thirds majority in the House of Commons, the party probably received well under 50 percent of the vote. The turnout was also apparently very low.

This is also reflected in the results of the smaller parties. According to the forecast, the Liberal Democrats can increase their number of seats fivefold, while the right-wing populists from Reform UK have 13 MPs from a standing start - significantly more than expected. "Labour must work hard in government to retain the voters who voted for Starmer in 2024. Because they didn't vote Labour, they wanted to get rid of the Tories," comments Sky News reporter Rigby.

Huge challenges

Voter loyalty is likely to be difficult. The country is facing enormous challenges. The National Health Service (NHS) is on its knees, there is too little housing, the dilapidated prisons are overcrowded, there is an acute shortage of skilled workers, Brexit has still not been overcome and trust in politics has been shaken. The list could go on.

But there is actually no money to finance improvements and stimulate necessary investments. Labor wants to scrap tax breaks for private schools, close tax loopholes for wealthy foreigners and increase the excess profits levy for energy companies. However, nothing is to change for private households, which are already struggling under the highest tax burden for decades. Many more mountains await Starmer and Labor after the first summit ascent.

SDA