Labour’s landslide victory in the UK general election has devastated the Conservative Party from top to bottom, giving it the fewest seats in its two-century history.
With almost all the votes counted on Friday morning, the left-leaning Labour Party held 410 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, to the Conservatives’ 118.
Leading the way in dropping out was former First Minister Liz Truss, who lost her seat, losing her South West Norfolk constituency, where she had previously held a massive majority of 24,180 votes, to Labour by 630 votes.
The former Prime Minister has many allies among other senior Conservatives who have been expelled from Parliament, which could result in a change in the party’s direction, the BBC reports. Reports.
Red wave: Labour wins Blair-style majority as Britain braces for five years of left-wing governmentshttps://t.co/gPW6x5dckp
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 5, 2024
Two other big names now without a place at Westminster are Penny Mordaunt, the Speaker of the House of Commons, who was seen as a possible future Conservative leader, and former cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.
After her defeat, Ms Truss told the BBC that the party had “not done enough” on areas such as “keeping taxes low” and reducing immigration.
Asked if she would stay in Conservative politics, she said she had “a lot to think about” and asked people to “give me some time”.
Beachhead wins: Nigel Farage wins his first seat in the UK Parliamenthttps://t.co/uRGmkvFzkL
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 5, 2024
Overall, this was the highest number of seats lost by Conservative ministers ever, beating the previous record of seven in 1997.
Twelve ministers who were attending the cabinet meeting walked out, including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Technology Secretary Michelle Donnellan.
Other prominent Conservative casualties include:
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- Former Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey Despite losing their majority of 20,000 on the Suffolk coast, Labour supporters rejoiced.
- Minister of Veterans Affairs Johnny Mercer Labour loses at Plymouth Moor View
- Secretary of Education Gillian Keegan They were defeated by the Liberal Democrats in Chichester, a West Sussex seat that the Conservatives had held for a century.
- Minister of Culture Lucy Fraser Ely and East Cambridgeshire were also lost to the Liberal Democrats
- Chief Secretary of the House of Representatives Simon Hart The Conservatives, in charge of party discipline, lost all their seats in Wales and were defeated by Plaid Cymru in Caerferdyn.
- Michael Fabricant In Lichfield, Labour’s Dave Robertson received 17,232 votes (a majority of 810) and lost his seat.
Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland, who also lost his seat in the election, told the BBC his party was facing “election catastrophe”.
He said too many Conservatives were focused on “personal agendas and position battles” rather than “dedicating themselves to the jobs they were elected to.”
Rising poverty, crumbling infrastructure, the open Channel border with France allowing tens of thousands of illegal immigrants and an overburdened National Health Service have fuelled dissatisfaction with a “broken Britain” ahead of the election.
