Thursday’s general election is a pivotal moment for Britain after 14 years of Conservative Party rule. Polls show the centre-left Labor Party is set to return to power in a fundamental reshuffle of British politics.
Millions of voters in 650 constituencies vote for candidates to represent them as MPs. The political party that wins the most seats usually forms Britain’s next government, and the leader of that party also becomes prime minister.
To win an overall majority, a party must secure 326 seats. If the leading party falls behind in this, it can try to form a government with the support of other parties.
Here’s a look at the key parties and players in the race:
Conservative party
Leader: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Mr Sunak took office in October 2022, succeeding Liz Truss, whose sweeping tax cut plan spooked financial markets and forced her to resign after just seven weeks. But Britain’s high mortgage rates and stagnant economy have persisted, and under Mr Sunack the Conservatives have suffered heavy losses in by-elections and mayoral and local council elections.
Defenders of Mr Sunak, 44, say he is a victim of the global financial turmoil stemming from the coronavirus pandemic and argue he deserves credit for stabilizing markets. But critics say he never followed that up with a convincing strategy to recharge growth. Nor did he deliver on two other promises: to reduce NHS waiting times and stop small boats ferrying asylum seekers across the Channel. Some say Mr. Sunak, a one-time Goldman Sachs banker whose wife is the daughter of an Indian tech billionaire, is simply not related.
Labor party
Leader: Keir Starmer
Labor has held a double-digit lead in the polls for more than 18 months. Mr Starmer, 61, a former prosecutor and human rights lawyer, has methodically repositioned the party as a centre-left alternative to the divided, erratic, sometimes extremist Conservatives. If Labor wins, Mr Starmer would become the party’s first prime minister since Gordon Brown left office in 2010.
A Labor government would operate under tight financial constraints, which has raised questions about whether Mr Starmer would have to raise taxes to pay for promised investment in the NHS and other public services. While he has issued a blanket promise not to raise taxes on “working people”, Labor is expected to raise taxes on oil and gas companies, private equity firms and high-income foreigners living in Britain.
UK Reform
Leader: Nigel Farage
A small anti-immigration party, Reform has surged in the polls in recent months, and Conservative officials fear it could alienate their supporters from their candidates. Mr Farage, a Brexit campaigner and staunch supporter of Donald J Trump, initially said he would not run, but changed course last month when he announced he would stand for parliament in Clacton, a small seaside town where 70 percent of voters chose Brexit in 2016. This has shaken up the race and could help Labor by splitting the right-wing vote.
Liberal Democrats
Leader: Ed Davey
The Lib Dems, a small centrist party, are well placed to win seats in affluent areas such as Surrey, where right-wing voters find the party more palatable than Labour. The Lib Dems made health and social care their key campaign priorities and were helped by Mr Davey, 58, who spoke movingly about his personal struggles, including caring for his disabled teenage son. He also subjected himself to publicity stunts such as bungee jumping and paddle boarding in an attempt to gain attention from the party’s biggest rivals.
Other parties
In Scotland, the once-dominant Scottish National Party it has been weakened by a funding scandal and the departure of Nicola Sturgeon as first minister, giving Labor the chance to pick up more seats there and ease Mr Starmer’s path to becoming prime minister. The Green Party he made significant gains in local elections in early May, and pre-election polls showed him gathering support from left-wing voters, especially 18-24 year olds, alienated by Labour’s move to the centre.
