Labour Party's win in UK General Election: Reasons for victory and challenges ahead

The Labour Party has won a resounding victory in the UK General Election. Keir Starmer, who is the leader of the Labour Party and was the leader of the opposition, has become the new Prime Minister after ousting the Conservative Party, which remained in power for fourteen years.

The Labour Party won 412 seats in the 650-member General Assembly. 326 seats are enough for a majority. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party had to settle for 121 seats.

India can also take solace in Starmer's success. Starmer is a leader who has constantly demanded that there is no need for third-party intervention in the Kashmir issue. The party changed its earlier stance on the Kashmir issue when Starmer became the leader of the Labour Party. The party had called for third-party intervention in Kashmir in 2019 when Jeremy Corbyn was party leader.
Jeremy Corbyn who follows a far-left ideology has also won. He was a former opposition leader and won as an independent candidate this time. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss and 12 other cabinet ministers also lost.

Keralites can also be proud that a Malayali has reached the British Parliament for the first time. Sojan Joseph, a native of Kottayam Kaipuzha, who has lived in England for over two decades, has reached the Parliament from Ashford as a Labour Party candidate. He is also an alumnus of Mannanam KE College and is an active presence in Malayalee associations and groups in England.

What happened in England is an election that proved that no matter who is in charge, if the country's economic condition worsens, they will face a setback in the election. The affairs of that country, which had been lagging behind in economic growth for the past few years, were not progressing so well. The cost of living has increased manifold but the income of the people has not increased commensurately. The Conservative Party administration had failed miserably in dealing with the economic crisis and in devising ways out of it. The spread of covid and Brexit further strained the financial system. Labour Party came up with the slogan 'Vote for a change' when the people were waiting for a change. Therefore, it can be said that the election result was expected.

A major source of public discontent was the National Health Service, which had broken down under the Conservative administration. The new prime minister has a great responsibility and challenge to solve the country's economic crisis by closing the tax loopholes without increasing the tax on a large scale and by including new institutions and entrepreneurs under the tax net. Starmer had announced during the election that one of his first decisions would be to reverse the Rishi Sunak government's controversial decision to send people who came to the UK in search of shelter to Rwanda in Africa. Starmer is also expected to take the initiative to sign a free trade agreement with India.