UK elections: As the Labour Party is heading towards a historic victory in the ongoing UK elections, party leader Keir Starmer has emerged victorious from his home constituency of Holborn and St Pancras as he inches closer to becoming the next British Prime Minister, succeeding Rishi Sunak. Starmer defeated independent candidate Andrew Feinstein with a margin of 18,884 votes on Friday.
Speaking to people after his victory, Starmer said, "Tonight people here and around the country have spoken, and they're ready for change... The change begins right here." This came after exit polls published earlier showed Labour winning the national election with a clear majority, placing Starmer on track to take over as prime minister from Rishi Sunak and end 14 years of Conservative-led governments.
"It is a huge privilege to be re-elected to serve this constituency, the incredible community of Holbron and St. Pancras. My home where my kids have grown up. Where my wife was born. And I have to thank Vic (his wife Victoria Starmer) and my family, more than anyone, for their love and support and for keeping me totally grounded," he further said.
Meanwhile, Starmer's predecessor as Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn has won his parliamentary seat in Islington North as an independent candidate, defeating his previous party and promising to be a thorn in the side of Starmer's incoming government after an acrimonious falling out. Corbyn resigned as Labour leader in 2019 after the party suffered its worst election defeat since 1935, and Starmer threw him out of the parliamentary party less than a year later, accusing him of undermining efforts to tackle anti-Semitism.
"This result is to me a resounding message from the people of Islington that they want something different, they want something better," Corbyn said. He led Labour through the 2016 vote to leave the European Union and fared better than expected against Theresa May's Conservatives in 2017, until a crushing defeat to her successor Boris Johnson prompted his resignation.
UK elections: What the exit polls predicted
According to the exit poll, which is often quite close to the final tally, Labour could win as many as 410 seats, comfortably crossing the half-way 326 mark required for a majority and notching up a 170-seat majority with the incumbent Tories down to just 131 seats. The Labour has won 133 seats in the Parliament as of 3:40 am (8:10 am IST) while he Conservatives are performing badly, with victories in only 18 seats and suffering the loss of two Cabinet ministers, according to BBC.
Starmer, looking set to take charge at 10 Downing Street on Friday, took to social media with a message for voters: "To everyone who has campaigned for Labour in this election, to everyone who voted for us and put their trust in our changed Labour Party — thank you."
If the poll comes true, it will be a remarkable turnaround for the Labour Party, which had its worst post-war election result in 2019, when the Conservatives under Boris Johnson won an 80-seat majority. On the other hand, the Conservatives may avoid a wipe-out but are still set for the worst result in the history of the party, as they are set to lose around 240 MPs.
Sunak stunned Westminster and many in his own party by calling the election earlier than he needed to in May with the Conservatives trailing Labour by some 20 points in opinion polls. He had hoped that the gap would narrow as had traditionally been the case in British elections, but the deficit has failed to budge in a fairly disastrous campaign.
(with inputs from agencies)
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