This past week has seen a General Election, held in the UK for the first time since 12th December, 2019. The Conservative Party had been in Government since May 2010; in excess of 14 years. The Political commentators stated that, “14 years is a long time in politics.” Much speculation existed as to the outcome of the 4th July, 2024 vote. Voter polls, to try and measure how individual citizens in the UK intended to vote have been up & running since the Election was announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 23rd May, 2024. These polls sought to give an indication of which Political party is likely to win the election and how many seats they might have to govern the country with. The polls were updated regularly, as individuals changed their minds depending on how they were feeling about many aspects of life in the UK, ranging from public services to taxation and the effectiveness of current Government policies (and lots of other topics).
The climax to the election campaigns came on 4th July, when all eligible UK citizens were encouraged to cast their vote for the Party of their choice. As soon as voting closed at 10pm, an exit poll was declared; again trying to predict the likely outcome. Votes were counted through the night in the 650 constituencies throughout the United Kingdom, including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The exit poll predicted that the Labour Party would win the election, with an estimated majority (how many more seats they might have compared to all of the other parties combined) of more than 200 seats.
When we woke on Friday 5th July it was quickly apparent that the exit polls were incredibly accurate. The Labour Party had indeed won the election, with a 170 seat majority. This was referred to as a landslide, as a majority of this magnitude enables the Government to implement their policies more effectively.
So, it’s a historic occasion; the last time the Labour Party won a majority on this scale was in 2001. Having won the election, the Labour government, (leader Sir Keir Starmer), are appointed to govern the country for a period of 5 years. The next General Election, at the latest, will be held on 3rd July, 2029. Perhaps 5 years is a long time in politics? It will be interesting to see how this time passes, and how the electorate feel in 5 years’ time.