UK: Tories lose ground as Sadiq Khan wins again in London
May 4, 2024
The Labour Party urged UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call a general election after Sunak's Conservatives suffered heavy losses in local polls. The vote saw Labour's Sadiq Khan securing another term as London mayor.
Sadiq Khan has been the mayor of London since 2016Image: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images
Khan won a little over a million votes, or nearly 44% of the vote, putting him over 11 percentage points ahead of his main challenger, the Conservative Party's Susan Hall. He did particularly well in inner London but struggled in several outer boroughs.
The local election held in the UK on Thursday is shaping up to be a heavy defeat for the ruling Tories. The Conservatives lost more than 450 councilors and 10 councils.
This means by late afternoon Saturday, with most of the 2,661 seats up for grabs in the local elections counted, the Tories had lost around half of the 1,000 seats they were defending.
There was a lot of speculation that the London mayor race result would be closer than previously thought, but Khan won more than 276,000 votes — representing a swing of 3.2% to Labour. He first became the first Muslim mayor of the UK capital in 2016.
Following his victory, Khan said it was the "honor of my life to serve the city that I love." He added: “Today’s not about making history, it’s about shaping our future."
Labour leader Starmer calls for general election
In contrast, Labour won councils that the party hasn't held for decades, regional mayorships, and a special election for the Blackpool South seat in parliament.
Starmer said the polls showed a desire for changeImage: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
"Here in Blackpool, a message has been sent directly to the prime minister," Labour leader Keir Starmer said. "This was directly to Rishi Sunak to say we are fed up with your decline, your chaos and your division and we want change," Starmer added. "It's time for change, it's time for a general election."
The local election results put Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. who belongs to the ruling Conservative Party, under pressure to outline his plan for when he will hold the next vote.
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Sunak defiant over chances in general election
Sunak has the power to decide the general election date, but it must be held before January 28 next year at the latest.
He struck a defiant note after the Conservative Ben Houchen won re-election as the mayor of the northern region of Tees Valley.
"Come a general election, [voters] are going to stick with us too," Sunak said.
Recent British prime ministers
Rishi Sunak became the UK's third prime minister in two months in 2022. He followed Liz Truss, who stepped down just six weeks after she was appointed.
Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/dpa
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak became prime minister in October 2022, promising to unite the Conservative Party in the wake of Liz Truss' policy failures. The 42-year-old became the country's youngest prime minister in more than a century and the first nonwhite leader.
Image: Aberto Pezzali/AP/picture alliance
Liz Truss (2022)
Liz Truss announced her resignation as prime minister after just 45 days in office, a new record. The outgoing head of government said her premiership began "at a time of great economic and international instability," referring to soaring inflation, a global energy crisis and the war in Ukraine.
Image: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Boris Johnson (2019-2022)
Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July. His premiership was toppled following a number of scandals and the resignation of 50 lawmakers from within his own party. Johnson's government oversaw the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in 2020.
Image: Frank Augstein/AP Photo/picture alliance
Theresa May (2016-2019)
Theresa May replaced David Cameron following the 2016 Brexit referendum and began negotiating the withdrawal from the EU. She resigned after lawmakers rejected three separate withdrawal bills she had put to Parliament, with hard-line Brexit supporters in her own party arguing it gave too many concessions to Brussels.
Image: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images
David Cameron (2010-2016)
David Cameron brought the Conservatives back to power in 2010, first in coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Cameron's party won a slim majority in its own right in 2015 — but with that came pressure to follow up on his promise to hold an "in-out" referendum on EU membership. Cameron ultimately campaigned for the "remain" side and resigned the day after the vote, when roughly 52% backed "leave."
Image: Matt Dunham/AP Photo/picture alliance
Gordon Brown (2007-2010)
Gordon Brown is a rare breed in British politics, a prime minister who left office as the result of an election defeat, not resignation or insurrection within his own party. Brown took over after Tony Blair's resignation in 2007 in the wake of the Iraq war, and with the financial crash about to hit. He lost power in the 2010 election, ending a 13-year period of Labour government in Britain.
Image: Jane Barlow/dpa/PA/AP/picture alliance
Tony Blair (1997-2007)
Tony Blair won three elections and is the only Labour Party politician who can claim to have won in almost half a century. Running on a more centrist platform he dubbed "New Labour," Blair won a landslide in 1997 and saw his support gradually wane during a decade in power. The war in Iraq had arguably the biggest negative impact on his support and legacy.
Image: Gretel Ensignia/AP Photo/picture alliance
John Major (1990-1997)
John Major took office as prime minister following the resignation of Margaret Thatcher, who had been in power for nearly 12 years. His government had to grapple with a major economic crisis and rebellions by anti-EU lawmakers from within the Conservative Party.
Image: Mary Evans Picture Library/picture alliance
Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990)
All three female British prime ministers hailed from the Conservative Party, although neither Theresa May nor Liz Truss could claim the longevity and electoral success of the first, Margaret Thatcher. Truss modeled herself on Thatcher quite consciously before becoming prime minister, posing in similar situations and wearing similar clothing to the prime minister of her youth.
Image: Marcus Thelen/picture alliance
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The chairman of the Conservative Party, Richard Holden, said it had been "a tough night" on Friday.
National polls suggest Labour is 20 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives in terms of general election choices.
According to the BBC, if replicated in a nationwide contest, the initial tallies suggested Labour would win 34 percent of the vote, with the Tories trailing by nine points.
Sky News' projection for a general election using the partial results would see Labour become the largest party but short of an overall majority.
Liberal Democrats and Greens make gains
Elsewhere, the centrist Liberal Democrats and the Green Party also made gains, as did Reform UK, which is trying to take voters from the Conservatives on the right.
Yet there seems to be no apparent moves among Tories to replace Sunak, which at this point would barely be possible in time for an election campaign.
Sunak has previously said he was eyeing a vote in the "second half of 2024."
