Historic defeat

Election debacle: Sunak steps down as Tory leader

The ousted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced his resignation as leader of the Conservatives.

(Bild: AP)

Following the historic defeat of the Conservative Tories in the British general election, Rishi Sunak wants to step down as party leader, as he announced on Friday. However, only "when the course has been set for a successor". 

The Tories now face the threat of a directional dispute. They achieved a historically poor result, winning just 121 seats in parliament, a loss of 250 seats. More cabinet members were voted out of office than ever before, with former Prime Minister Liz Truss also losing her seat.

A heavy defeat for Sunak
For 44-year-old Sunak, it is a heavy defeat. "The Labour Party has won this general election and I called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory," said Sunak, visibly dejected. After announcing his resignation outside the British Prime Minister's office at 10 Downing Street, Sunak went to King Charles to formally seal his end as Prime Minister.  

With almost all constituencies counted, Labour has at least 412 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons. In the 2019 election, the party only won 202 seats. Party leader Keir Starmer will thus become the new British head of government and will be appointed by the King today to form it. 

Right-wing populists on the rise
A number of votes also went to the right-wing populist party Reform UK. Its leader Nigel Farage, who once played a key role in driving Brexit forward, made it into the House of Commons for the first time at the eighth attempt. His party is likely to put further pressure on the Tories.

Nigel Farage made it into the British parliament.

(Bild: AFP)

The Conservatives have ruled the UK for 14 years. Starmer will now be the first Labour Prime Minister since Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. "The people have spoken, they are ready for change. They have voted and it is time for us to deliver," he said. Starmer, who emphasizes his down-to-earth origins, was formerly head of the Crown Prosecution Service and has two teenage children.

Labour back in the political center
Starmer led Labour back to the political center after the party had moved far to the left under his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn - who was now re-elected as an independent. He also took decisive action against anti-Semitic tendencies within his own ranks. In terms of political content, the previous leader of the opposition remained rather vague in many areas.

EU Council President Charles Michel congratulated Starmer on Friday on his party's "historic" victory in the House of Commons elections and emphasized that he was looking forward to working together in the future. "The European Union and the United Kingdom are important partners, working together in all areas of mutual interest to our citizens," Michel said on the X online service. He will see Starmer at the European Political Community (EPC) summit planned for July 18 in England, "where we will discuss common challenges such as stability, security, energy and immigration". The body was founded in 2022 as an informal discussion platform for the 27 EU countries and 20 partner states to strengthen cohesion, cooperation and dialog.

Starmer had announced that he wanted to rebuild closer relations with the EU, but without reversing Brexit. According to experts, Brussels hopes that the change of power in London will lead to a more pragmatic and constructive dialog again, after relations with Starmer's Conservative predecessors were rather unstable.