2024 UK Election Results: Jolly good! / Bloody hell!

On May 22nd, 2024, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a snap election in the United Kingdom, which was held yesterday, July 4. Throughout the campaign, the Conservatives had been significantly behind in the majority of public opinion polls, which also positioned the Labour Party as the likely winner of the election.  

In a significant shift, the Labour Party won a large majority government in the House of Commons, with 411 seats out of 650 total. The Conservatives were reduced to 121 seats, down from 365 after the 2019 election.  

Results: 

Key Takeaways:  

  • Significant victory for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, going from the Official Opposition to a majority government 
  • Conservatives took historic losses, losing 251 seats, including in traditionally Conservative leaning ridings 
  • Liberal Democrats picked up 63 seats, doubling their caucus in the House of Commons 
  • The Scottish National Party also had significant losses, down to 9 seats, less than half of their pre-election caucus 
  • After a late entrance into the election, Reform UK secured 5 seats 
  • The Green Party increased the size of their caucus from 1 to 4 MPs 

What it Means for Canada & Nova Scotia:  

The relationship between Canada (and Nova Scotia, in particular) and the United Kingdom cannot be overstated. It crosses economic, military, people, cultural and historical ties.  

In terms of federal and provincial trade, our leaders will continue to make progress in finalizing the Canada-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement and deepening our relationship with the Indo-Pacific region through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.  

In addition, the partnership on strengthening defence and security will remain as concrete as it was when the two countries supported the training of Ukrainian troops.  

What’s Next:  

Today, Keir Starmer met with King Charles and was formally asked to form Government. As head of state, the King is responsible for appointing the Prime Minister the day after a general election. This will be the third prime minister of the King’s reign, following Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. 

Following today’s appointment by the King, Prime Minister Starmer and his team will get to work on building a Cabinet to assist in moving their agenda and campaign promises forward.  

 

Prepared by: Jeff Brennan, Jane Landry and Ashley MacMillan