Page 2 - Britain Elections

UK to go to polls today; 46.5 mn voters to decide Rishi Sunak's fate

The future of Rishi Sunak as Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party hangs in the balance as the UK goes to the polls on Thursday. Around 46.5 million Britons are eligible to vote in the election. The electorate votes for members of Parliament across 650 constituencies with 326 required for a majority in the first past the post system. Sunak, 44, is up against voter angst against the incumbent Tories after 14 years in power and has had to contend with trailing far behind 61-year-old Keir Starmer-led Labour Party throughout the six-week campaign. Both leaders wrapped up their poll pitches with contrasting messages Sunak urging voters not to hand a "supermajority" to tax-raising Labour and Starmer playing down the prospect of a landslide win for fear of a low turnout impacting the final outcome. On Thursday, around 40,000 polling booths open across the country at 7 am local time as voters turn out to mark a cross next to their chosen candidate on a paper ballot

UK Election 2024: Key issues, candidates, and voting process explained

On July 4, voters across the United Kingdom will elect all 650 members of the House of Commons, with each member representing a local constituency

As UK poll campaigning enters final hours, Sunak tries to turn a corner

Rishi Sunak has covered thousands of miles in the past few weeks, but he hasn't outrun the expectation that his time as Britain's prime minister is in its final hours. United Kingdom voters will cast ballots in a national election Thursday, passing judgment on Sunak's 20 months in office, and on the four Conservative prime ministers before him. They are widely expected to do something they have not done since 2005: Elect a Labour Party government. During a hectic final two days of campaigning that saw him visit a food distribution warehouse, a supermarket, a farm and more, Sunak insisted the outcome of this election is not a foregone conclusion. People can see that we have turned a corner, said the Conservative leader, who has been in office since October 2022. It has been a difficult few years, but undeniably things are in a better place now than they were. Labour also is warning against taking the election result for granted, imploring supporters not to grow complacent about poll

UK's landmark postwar elections: When Thatcher became 1st female PM in 1979

Britain's upcoming general election is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. Many analysts believe it will be one of the country's most consequential elections since the end of World War II. Ahead of the July 4 vote, The Associated Press takes a look back at other landmark UK elections since the war. Britain's general election in 1979 is without doubt the most significant since 1945, with Margaret Thatcher becoming the country's first female prime minister on a radical Conservative economic agenda. At its heart, Thatcherism represented a total rethink over the role of the state. Since Labour's big victory in 1945, a so-called postwar consensus on the economy existed between the two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives. Despite the changes in power, their economic approaches aligned. Governments targeted full employment and would intervene in the economy to pursue that goal through tax and spending policies. That consensus was getti

UK's Labour Party vows to eliminate anti-India sentiments within its ranks

The UK's Opposition Labour Party, hoping to win a mandate to form a government after the July 4 general election, has committed itself to stamping out anti-India sentiments within its ranks and building a strong strategic partnership with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led administration. The party's resolution during an annual conference under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in favour of international intervention in Kashmir was widely seen as having cost it British Indian votes in the 2019 general election. There have also been concerns over some Labour councillors espousing pro-Khalistan views. At a Political Hustings' event for Britain's South Asian community organised by Asian Voice' in partnership with City Sikhs and City Hindus Network in London on Friday evening, Labour Party chair and shadow secretary of state for women and equalities Anneliese Dodds claimed that the party led by Keir Starmer is confident of having cleansed its ranks of any members with such extremist

Incredibly angry over election date betting accusations: British PM

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that anyone involved in using inside information to bet on the date of Britain's July 4 national election should be expelled from his Conservative Party. Sunak said on the BBC on Thursday that he was "incredibly angry, incredibly angry" to learn of allegations that Conservative politicians betted on the election date, and that they "should face the full force of the law" if they were found to have broken the law. "It's right that they are being investigated properly by the relevant law enforcement authorities," he said. "If anyone is found to have broken the rules, not only should they face the full consequences of the law, I will make sure that they are booted out of the Conservative Party." Two weeks ahead of the general election, it was an uncomfortable experience for Sunak, whose Conservative Party is trailing the main opposition Labour Party by 20 points by many polls ahead of the vote. Earlier, asked about reports that the UK's ..

Bank of England to keep rates at 16-year high of 5.25% before UK election

Last month the central bank forecast inflation would rise to around 2.6 per cent by the end of the year

UK takes top spot in Europe, Israel for GenAI startups, says Accel

Accel analysed 221 GenAI startups and found that 30 per cent were founded in the UK, 14 per cent in Germany, and 13 per cent in Israel

India-UK FTA: Pending issues to be solved post Britain's general elections

The outstanding issues with regard to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK will be taken up after the general elections in Britain, a senior government official said on Friday. The issues which need to be ironed out include duties in sectors like electric vehicles, alcoholic beverages, and services. "The outstanding issues to seal the deal will be resolved once the general elections in the UK are over," Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce L Satya Srinivas told reporters here. The UK's general election will be held on July 4. India and the UK launched talks for an FTA in January 2022 to boost economic ties between the two nations. There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights. The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 21.34 billion in 2023-24 from 20.36 billion in 2022-23. On the India-EU trade pact, Srinivas said that the eighth round of talks is .

Rise in Britain's jobless rate muddies PM Sunak's message to voters

Official data on Tuesday showed the jobless rate for the three months to April rose to 4.4 per cent from 4.3 per cent

UK job market on its way to recovery after downturn, say recruiters

Billings for temporary staff dropped by the least since January

UK polls: Britain's rich race to save their wealth from election hit

The UK was expected to lose a net 3,200 high-net-worth individuals last year, the most in Europe and double 2022's level, citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners estimated

Over 100 business leaders back UK's opposition Labour Party before polls

Rishi Sunak's governing Conservatives have typically been the party of big business but Labour's finance policy chief Rachel Reeves has spent years courting business owners

Rishi Sunak faces pre-election turmoil as 78 Tory MPs, key ministers resign

UK faces political shakeup: 78 Conservative Party MPs, including key ministers, announced their exit ahead of snap elections which are slated to be held on July 4

UK's July general election: It's impact on India FTA, Indo-Pacific tilt

As the campaign for the UK general election gathers momentum after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised many this week with a snap summer poll on July 4, exactly a month after India's election results on June 4, the prospect of an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) has been kicked into the long grass. While political analysts and strategic experts have expressed confidence that very little should change on the bilateral relationship front whatever the outcome in either election, the very small window that was open for a deal being clinched by the Sunak-led Tory government has now been swept away in the election wave of both countries. The Opposition Labour Party, in the lead in most pre-election surveys, has committed itself to finish the job but the timelines will remain uncertain for some time. Rishi Sunak's shock poll date announcement of July 4 has skewered any prospect of the finalisation of the long-awaited and much-anticipated FTA with India by a Conservative ...

PM Sunak, Keir Starmer to hit campaign trail as UK election race begins

Both party leaders are expected to hit the campaign trail, seeking to seize the early initiative by meeting voters and delivering the messages they hope will earn them enough seats in parliament

UK PM Sunak under pressure amid dire local election results for his party

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's leadership is under severe pressure on Friday as the results of local elections and a crucial by-election poured in overnight, delivering what is being characterised as one of the worst poll outcomes for the governing Conservative Party in 40 years. Rebels from within his party are expected to renew their attacks on the British Indian leader after the Opposition Labour Party made definitive gains, including overturning the Tory majority in the Blackpool South by-election which was necessitated following a resignation amid a lobbying row. Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer declared the result as a "seismic" victory and an overall poll verdict in favour of the party as it comes on the eve of a general election, expected later this year. "Blackpool speaks for the whole country... This is the one contest where voters had the chance to send a message to Rishi Sunak's Conservatives directly, and that message is an overwhelming vote for change," said Starmer

Former British PM Theresa May to stand down at next election after 27 years

Theresa May, who was the prime minister of Britain between 2016 and 2019, on Friday announced her exit from frontline politics after 27 years as a member of Parliament in the House of Commons. The 67-year-old, whose travails with getting a Brexit deal through Parliament in the wake of the June 2016 referendum ended in a forced exit from 10 Downing Street over four years ago, said she had taken the "difficult decision" to not contest in the next general election from her Maidenhead constituency in south-east England. She has been the Conservative MP for the Berkshire seat since 1997, having been elected seven times. "Since stepping down as prime minister I have enjoyed being a backbencher again and having more time to work for my constituents and champion causes close to my heart including most recently launching a Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, said May in a statement to her local Maidenhead Advertiser'. These causes have been taking an increasing amount

UK economy slips into recession; Japan loses third-largest economy title

Rishi Sunak, who came into power in October 2022, had made five major promises after assuming office, including taming down inflation and growing the United Kingdom economy

Akshata Murty makes UK political stage debut for 'best friend' UK PM Sunak

Britain's Indian First Lady, Akshata Murty, made a surprise debut on the political stage on Wednesday when she stepped out to introduce best friend Rishi Sunak for his maiden speech as UK Prime Minister to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. Murty, during her light-hearted and personal speech, claimed her husband was unaware of her gate-crashing as the warm-up act to the centrepiece of the annual conference and that her decision had also surprised their daughters, Krishna and Anoushka. The 43-year-old daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy went on to share her pride in Sunak's many achievements and how it was his honesty and integrity that had first attracted her to him when they met as students at Stanford University in their 20s. Rishi and I are each other's best friends; we are one team and I could not imagine being anywhere else than here today to show my support to him and to the party, said Murty. Rishi and I met when we were 24 when we were both studying