British voters chose a new government on Thursday in parliamentary elections that are widely expected to put the Labour Party in power against a bleak backdrop of economic recession, growing distrust in institutions and a fraying social fabric.
Fed-up voters are delivering their verdict on Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party, which has been in power since 2010. Voting has begun in 40,000 polling stations, including churches, laundromats and crematoriums.
“Nothing has worked for the last 14 years,” said James Erskine, a London voter optimistic about change. “I see this as a possibility for dramatic change and I want it.”
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Labour’s steady and wide lead in the polls seems to buck the rightward shifts of recent elections in Europe, including France and Italy, but a similar populist undercurrent is running through the U.K. Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has muddied the race with his party’s anti-immigrant “take back our country” sentiment, weakening support for a Conservative party that was already facing bleak prospects.
Hundreds of communities have been caught in a bitter battle in which traditional party loyalties have been superseded by more pressing concerns like the economy, our crumbling infrastructure and the National Health Service.
In Henley-on-Thames, about 40 miles west of London, voters like retiree Patricia Mulcahy felt the nation wanted something different — and that her normally Conservative-voting community might change its tune this time.
“The younger generation is much more interested in change,” Mulcahy said, “so I think whatever happens in Henley, or in this country, there will be big changes. But whoever gets in, there’s going to be a tough job. It’s not going to be an easy job.”
Britain has been through a tumultuous year, some of which the Conservative party itself is responsible for, leaving many voters pessimistic about the country’s future. Britain’s departure from the European Union was followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which hit the economy hard, and then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff sparked widespread anger by hosting lockdown-breaking parties.
Mr Johnson’s successor, Liz Truss, further shook the economy with a series of huge tax cuts and lasted just 49 days in office. Rising poverty and cuts to public services have fuelled discontent over a “broken Britain”.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in London to cast their vote, Thursday, July 4, 2024. British voters are voting in a national election to choose the 650 members of Parliament who will serve in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Chancellor Rishi Sunak surprised his party by calling the election on May 22. (AP Photo/Vadim Gilda)
The early part of the day was sunny across much of the country, making it fine weather for people to head to polling stations.
During the first hour that polls were open, Mr Sunak made the short journey from his home to Kirby Sigston village hall in the northern English constituency of Richmond to cast his vote. He arrived with his wife, Akshata Murthy, and walked hand in hand into the village hall, surrounded by rolling countryside.
Keir Starmer’s centre-left Labour party has held a steady lead in the polls for months, but party leaders fear their supporters will not turn out to vote and have warned against taking the outcome for granted.
“Change. Today you can vote for it,” he wrote on social media platform “X” on Thursday.
Hours after posting that message, Mr Starmer walked hand-in-hand with his wife Victoria to a polling station in London’s Kentish Town district and cast his vote, leaving through a back door to avoid being seen by gathered residents and journalists.
Labour has not thrilled people with promises to grow the stagnant economy, invest in infrastructure and make the UK a “clean energy superpower”.
But the campaign has not been without problems: the party has won the backing of much of the business community and traditionally conservative newspapers, including the Sun, a tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch, which praised Starmer for “driving the party back to the centre of British politics”.
The Conservatives acknowledged that Labour was on track to win.
“If the polls are to be believed, we could wake up tomorrow with a Labour majority and ready to exercise unlimited powers,” Sunak said in a message to voters on Wednesday. He urged voters to support the Conservatives to limit Labour’s power.
Douglas Beattie, a former Labour candidate and author of How Labour Wins and Why It Loses, said Mr Starmer’s “quiet stability perhaps suits the mood of the country right now”.
The Conservative party, meanwhile, has been plagued by gaffes, starting inauspiciously when Mr Sunak was soaked by rain while making the announcement outside No 10 Downing Street, before flying early from a ceremony in France marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
Several Conservative Party members close to Mr Sunak are under investigation for allegedly using inside information to bet on the election date before it was announced.
Sunak has struggled to shake off the taint of political turmoil and mismanagement that has surrounded the Conservative party.
But for many voters, the lack of trust applies not just to the ruling party but to politicians in general – and that’s the void Mr Farage has stepped into.
The centrist Liberal Democrats and the environmental Green Party are also trying to win over disaffected voters.
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“As a working person, I don’t know who’s right for me,” said Michelle Bird, a docker in Southampton on England’s south coast who is undecided whether to vote for Labour or the Conservatives. “I don’t know if it’s the devil I know or the devil I don’t know.”
