Labour’s return

The British elections concluded with a historic rout, as the Labour Party returned to power with over 400 seats and an overwhelming majority of almost 300 in the 650-seat House of Commons. While a one-sided result was widely expected, the final margin is still cause for pause for the Conservative Party, which saw its 14 years in charge end not only in embarrassment at the polls with its worst-ever election result, but also with few notable achievements for historians to record.

Although the bungling of Brexit achieved global infamy, the Conservatives’ biggest failure has probably been austerity, which had knock-on effects well beyond the stripping of the social safety net. Conservative rule has seen the biggest drop in living standards since records began due to economic mismanagement, skyrocketing home prices amid wage stagnation, loss of job security, rising poverty and high inflation.

The Conservatives were fairly accused of floundering in their response to Covid-19, while corrupt contracting was never punished, even when the provision of substandard protective equipment began costing lives. The NHS is also ridiculously overburdened, and malnutrition has become a notable problem. Schools were underfunded, libraries closed and university tuition fees rose beyond most people’s means.

Hence, it is unsurprising — but still disappointing — that Labour’s campaign has largely been an uninspiring “we’re not them” that failed to truly excite the electorate. In fact, even though the Conservative implosion guaranteed Labour 400-plus seats, there were still several surprises, as Labour shadow ministers lost their seats, and some ‘safe’ Labour seats wound up being closer than expected, largely due to backlash over the party’s spineless Palestine policy. Labour may end up with the lowest-ever total vote share of a party to win an election.

Still, Keir Starmer, the new PM, takes office with a blank check, thanks to Labour’s supermajority. What he does with it may determine whether or not Britain remains a global power in the coming decades. Unlike the elections, he cannot rely on the Conservatives’ incompetence to do the heavy lifting for him.