Anger at economic stagnation, political scandals and a crisis in public services after years of government spending cuts, saw voters desert the Conservative Party
Starmer has ruled out rejoining the EU single market or customs union but his party has said it is still possible to remove some trade barriers with bloc
The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, has won 360 seats and crossed the majority mark of 326 seats to form the government in the UK
Britain's opposition Labour Party has won a 326-seat majority in the parliamentary election, set to put an end to the 14-year-long rule of the Conservative Party
Keir Starmer, the Labour Party leader on track to be the UK's new prime minister, on Friday thanked voters and said the people of the country are "ready for change" and to "end the politics of performance". Starmer, 61, in his victory speech after winning from Holborn and St Pancras, said whether people voted for him or not, "I'll serve every person in this constituency." 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 and notching up a 170-seat majority with the incumbent Tories led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak down to just 131 seats. "I will speak out for you, have your back, fight your corner every single day," he said, adding people are "ready for change" and to "end the politics of performance". "The change begins right here because this is your democracy, your community, your future," he said. "You have voted. It's now time for us to deliver." Starmer thanked all tho
UK elections: As many as 46.5 million Britons are eligible to vote in today's election to choose the members of the Parliament across 650 constituencies
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
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 ..
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
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
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
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 ...
S&P Global UK Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for the services and manufacturing sectors fell to 52.8 in May from 54.1 in April
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
Net borrowing excluding state-controlled banks was 20.5 billion pounds
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
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
The upper house of Britain's Parliament has urged the Conservative government not to ratify a migration treaty with Rwanda. It's a largely symbolic move, but signals more opposition to come for the stalled and contentious plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to the African nation. The House of Lords voted by 214 to 171 on Monday evening to delay the treaty that paves the way for the deportation plan. The treaty and an accompanying bill are the pillars of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 's bid to overcome a block on the deportations by the UK Supreme Court. Members of the Lords, who are appointed rather than elected, backed a motion saying Parliament should not ratify the pact until ministers can show Rwanda is safe. John Kerr, a former diplomat who sits in the Lords, said the Rwanda plan was incompatible with our responsibilities under international human rights law. The considerations of international law and national reputation... convince me that it wouldn't be right to
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is keen to clinch a free trade agreement (FTA) with India in time for Easter, which falls at the end of March 2024, according to a UK media report. The India-UK FTA talks began in January last year, aimed at significantly enhancing the GBP 36-billion bilateral trading partnership. A new round of negotiations, expected to be the last, is set to start early in the new year after the thirteenth round concluded on December 15. Prime Minister Mr Sunak and India's premier Narendra Modi are said to be keen to get the deal wrapped up by April, reads a report in the Daily Express' newspaper updated on Saturday. It is hoped a deal can be signed and sealed before India's general elections begin on April 1, it claims. The newspaper quoted a source close to the trade talks on the UK side to say that a lot of progress has been made, but some of the hardest aspects remain pending. We have made a lot of progress, but the last stuff to do is the hardest. We have
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has condemned the horror and barbarism unleashed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and pledged continued support to Israel in restoring security as he marked one week of the conflict in the Middle East. In a statement issued by 10 Downing Street and also on social media on Saturday evening, the British Indian leader also reiterated his commitment to the Jewish community in the country that all protective measures would be deployed. His warning to anyone stirring up shameful antisemitism came as thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched the streets of London chanting anti-Israel slogans and 15 arrests were made on suspicion of public order offences and criminal damage. No words can begin to describe the horror and barbarism unleashed in Israel a week ago. Daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, grandparents were taken from people in the cruellest and most horrific way possible, reads Sunak's statement. I know that the days and