United Kingdom goes to the polls

On Thursday, July 4, millions of voters from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland go to the polls to elect 650 MPs to Westminster, “the mother of Parliaments”. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the date for the long-awaited general election on May 22, amid pouring rain at 10 Downing Street, London, the official residence of the prime minister. The miserable weather of that day was a bad omen which spelled doom and gloom for Sunak’s Conservative Party.

By interesting coincidence July 4 is the 248th anniversary of the 1776 “Declaration of Independence” from Britain by 13 colonies which led to the birth of a new country, the United States of America which is today a superpower whose capital city is Washington DC, named after Gen George Washington, first president of USA.

The four main political parties participating in the general election are the ruling Conservative Party (Tories) with 344 seats in the outgoing parliament, Labour Party with 205 seats, Scottish National Party (SNP) with 43 seats and Liberal Democrats with 15 seats. 

The Labour Party is led by Sir Keir Starmer who is Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Parliament while SNP wants to emulate 13 former colonies and declare independence for Scotland as soon as possible. 
According to some opinion polls, the Labour Party could win a landslide victory with a historic majority of 194 seats. Tony Blair won with a majority of 197 seats in 1997 and Stanley Baldwin with 210 seats a century ago in 1924.

The key issues which have dominated the campaigns include the state of the British economy which overtook health as the most important issue for British voters in January 2022. The Labour Party has focused on the high cost of living and outlined a programme of subsidies and home-building measures which will kick-start economic growth which has declined or stagnated during 13 years of Tory rule. 

Labour has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes within five years to address housing shortage and provide more affordable options.
The state of public services has also featured prominently, especially long waiting lists for the National Health Service (NHS) which continued to rise in 2023, despite Prime Minister Sunak’s promise to bring them down. The Labour Party has pledged to allocate additional £1.1 billion to pay overtime work to reduce waiting lists and improve patient care.

In the realm of immigration there is a significant policy divergence between the two leading parties. The Labour Party has stated its intention to repeal the controversial and notorious “Rwanda Bill” tabled by the Conservative Party which enables the UK government to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda. 

Labour Party’s election manifesto which is appropriately named, “Let’s Get Britain’s Future Back,” outlines the party’s initiatives to transform the UK across key areas which include: five national missions and three foundational principles, namely, economic stability, strong national defence and secure borders. 

Labour Party leader Starmer has argued emphatically that “economic security, border security and national security” will be the bedrock of the Labour party’s manifesto. He has promised to fight for the working class and restore hope and pride in the United Kingdom. I wish him every success in this daunting challenge.

In a stinging rebuke of the Conservative Party, Starmer said that: “The Tories have knocked the confidence of the country, drained the well of optimism and tried to stop people from believing that change is possible. But I know with every fibre of my being that Britain can be better than this.”

If opinion polls are right, a genuinely fundamental change is on the way for the United Kingdom. Change is inevitable and good for every country and every society. I predict a decisive victory for the Labour Party and its long overdue return to 10 Downing Street in July.

Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.  [email protected]