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From the crumbling NHS to the economic crisis, why Rishi Sunak lost the UK election
New Delhi:
Out with the old and in with the new (sort of), UK voters said on Friday, delivering Rishi SunakThe Conservatives suffered a resounding defeat in the general election, losing almost 250 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. And Sir Keir StarmerThe Labour Party has been given the keys to the castle.
Mr Starmer and his “new” Labour will now form the next government. Addressing a crowd of party faithful at a dawn victory rally in central London, he declared the UK “reclaims its future”.
The scale of the Conservatives’ defeat is singular; in power for 14 years, the party was defeated in Wales and Scotland, and saw some of its most senior leaders, including former Prime Minister Liz Truss, defeated.
Labour Party Landslide
But perhaps the most punishing blow – the BBC is reporting that the Conservatives have lost seats, in the shire counties of England, that they have held since the early 20th century. For example, Labour’s Joe Morris defeated the Conservative Party’s Guy Opperman to end the Conservative Party’s 100-year hold on the seat of Hexham.
READ | ‘I’m sorry’: Rishi Sunak concedes defeat in UK election
The Conservatives are set for one of their worst returns in a general election, and Labour, with more than 400 seats, the best. Exit polls predicted exactly that scenario, giving Mr Starmer 405 seats.
Collapse of the Conservatives
Rishi Sunak, the outgoing prime minister, has called for a snap election in May.
The warning signs were there then; indeed, they had been there for several weeks, if not months, before, as UK voters struggled with a cost-of-living crisis, a growing immigration problem, and poor infrastructure and healthcare, among other issues, and the Conservatives faced a serious image problem.
READ | Labour wins UK election, first defeat for Rishi Sunak’s party since 2010
At that point, the Conservatives – asking the British public for permission to install a sixth Prime Minister since 2010 – were already 20 points behind a rejuvenated Labour, but Mr Sunak seemed to believe he could close and reform the gap. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Why did the Labour Party defeat the Conservatives?
Choice. But the crumbling NHS, or National Health Service, and the state of the economy, and associated concerns such as rising prices, top the list of reasons for defeat.
A survey by the IPSOS Issues Index in June found that concerns about cutting funding for the NHS – a free public healthcare programme that any other country would love to have – topped the list, followed by the economy, immigration, rising prices, housing and schools, defence and counter-terrorism and crime.
Mr Sunak scored poorly on all of those points, including overseeing the country’s lowest growth rate since the early 19th century and a sharp rise in the cost of living, the highest in 41 years.
O British economy has slowed significantly over the past decade, even taking into account the global crisis triggered by the Covid pandemic. GDP per capita grew by just 4.3 percent from 2007 to 2023.
In the previous 16 years, that number was a staggering 46%.
This meant that income stagnated.
A report by the non-partisan think tank Centres for Cities found that Britons, on average, had £10,200 less to save or spend between 2010 and 2022, compared to growth rates from 1998-2010.
And the UK’s national debt — £2.7 trillion — is the highest it has been since the 1960s.
There appeared to be some relief soon; in May, the International Monetary Fund spoke of a “soft landing” for the economy and upgraded its growth forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 0.7.
And it was perhaps because of this expectation that Mr Sunak called for an early election.
O NHS is seen by many as the crown jewel of British government public service.
The funding of the UK’s free national healthcare system, the NHS, has been a key issue (File).
The Conservatives have repeatedly stressed the importance of the NHS, but this concern has not appeared to translate into local support for doctors, nurses and medical professionals.
Budget allocations under the Conservatives paint a clear picture. Since they came to power in 2010, health spending has grown by an average of 2.8% per year, compared with 3.6% over the past 50 years. That includes the pandemic period.
In April, there were an estimated 7.6 million people waiting for treatment under the NHS scheme, of whom more than 50,000 had been on the list for more than a year. The average waiting time was 14 weeks.
The number of people waiting for medical care, including those with serious conditions, has tripled under the Conservative government, according to NHS figures published by Al Jazeera.
Brexit also had its say, with movement restrictions meaning medical professionals from mainland Europe either couldn’t be hired or chose not to apply. As horrible as that sounds, this was good news for India, with the NHS turning to its former colony to fill more than 2,000 doctor positions.
Immigration was also a problem. Mr Sunak’s government had promised to crack down on illegal immigrants into the UK, but its Rwanda policy – supposed to act as a major deterrent – has failed to deliver.
In fact, two years after its announcement, no planes have taken off for the African country.
According to Sky NewsThe Conservatives have spent more than £300 million on the scheme, which they say would stop illegal immigrants entering the UK in small boats across the English Channel.
Under this policy, those captured would be sent to Rwanda while they seek asylum.
As of March-end, a total of 1.18 lakh people were awaiting an initial decision on their application.
The rise cost of living and shooting House pricesas well as steep rental price increaseshave also been a problem that conservatives can’t seem to control.
Contributions by Truss, Johnson
It was not just Mr Sunak’s failures that led to the Tories’ downfall.
Boris Johnson was elected Conservative leader and prime minister in July 2019, just before the pandemic struck. His dishevelled appearance and chaotic leadership precipitated a revolt by his ministers and, of course, the “Partygate” scandal, which referred to parties at 10 Downing Street during a lockdown.
Mr Johnson resigned in June last year following an investigation he called a “witch hunt”.
The last three Conservative prime ministers – Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson (File).
He was followed by Ms Truss, the UK’s fourth female prime minister and its shortest-serving leader.
READ | UK in crisis: why the country has seen 3 PMs in 3 years
Ms Truss – who lost her South West Norfolk seat – has faced criticism for her handling of the economy, including a controversial mini-budget that led to market turmoil. Her leadership has been further damaged by policy U-turns and a loss of confidence among MPs.
What now for the Labour Party?
Mr Starmer’s leadership was instrumental in the Labour Party’s recovery.
Since taking office in early 2020, he has repositioned the party to the center and fixed internal problems such as infighting and anti-Semitism.
Looking ahead, he will want to avoid repeating Tory mistakes, including in October 2022, when Ms Truss’s government proposed unfunded tax cuts that spooked markets and devalued the pound.
This reckless attitude cost him his job.
“We did it. Thank you very much… you have changed our country,” Mr Starmer told triumphant supporters at a victory rally in central London. “(But) with a mandate like this comes a huge responsibility… Today we begin the next chapter… we begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal and we begin to rebuild.”
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