Britain looks set to elect Labor Party leader Keir Starmer as its next PM as Starmer's Centre-left party seems to be well on course for a landslide victory.
Its been popular opinion for a while now that the Tories are going to make way for a return of the labour party after a 14 year hiatus. But a closer look at circumstances reveal that the vote is more against conservative party than in favour of the Keir Stramer’s party. It’s a case of There is an alternative or TIAA factor as opposed to ‘There is no alternative’ or TINA factor that gained much traction in Indian political lexicon at one point.
In other words, for Keir Stramer, it’s a matter of being at the right time at the right place and therefore the inevitably of his becoming the next Britain Pm now seems to be a foregone conclusion. Though Sunak when asked about this continues to say that its not over till its over. His appeal to voters remains based on the fact that 20 months in charge have set the economy on an upward path and Labour should not be allowed to put that in jeopardy.
Keir Starmer on the other hand is yet to be tested and that is proving to be an advantage right now as the voters are ready and willing to try out a new alternative. Starmer took over Labor from veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn and since then revival prospects of the party after the dismal defeat in 2019 has seemed brighter. He is a former chief prosecutor of England and Wales who has firmly pitched his campaign on ‘change’ knowing that that is likely to resonate the best with the voters.
The high living costs for Brits coupled with poor access to National Health Service owing to drying up of state funds has added to the disenchantment with the conservative government. It has aggravated the anger stemming from the failure to deliver the goods of Brexit and the reneging on immigration commitments.
The last nail in the coffin proved to be the leadership crisis in the conservatives with the party first ripped apart by scandal under Boris Johnson followed by a disastrous Liz Truss’ term of eroding England's long-held economic credibility. Rishi Sunak has claimed he has steadied the ship, and this is no time to handover the mantle to the Labour policies which will only take the country back. Are the voters convinced? Only 5th July verdict of 2024 UK elections will tell.
