In one of the most comprehensive defeats in United Kingdom’s (UK) history, the Labour Party routed the Tories (Conservative Party) with a landslide, exiting them from No. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the prime minister.
The first change in government in 14 years came with Labour winning 412 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons in the July 4, 2024 election. The Conservative Party suffered its biggest defeat ever with 121 seats. The Liberal Democrats secured 72 seats, while the Scottish National Party won nine seats.
The election saw 11 cabinet ministers lose their seats, in addition to Liz Truss, a former prime minister.
There was inclusiveness of the election with 30 British-Nigerians who contested the election with six getting elected. The six is a record five women and one man.
As world leaders including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent out congratulatory messages to Sir Keir Starmer, the new prime minister, and British citizens for being an abiding model of democracy, transition to a new government swiftly took shape.
In fact, with the results being announced and the Labour Party gaining parliamentary majority, ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took responsibility for his party’s devastating loss. In his concession speech, Sunak apologised for his party’s record, declaring new Prime Minister Sir Starmer “a decent, public-spirited man, whom I respect”.
Starmer was also magnanimous in his six-minute post-election address, stating: “Whether you voted Labour or not, in fact, especially if you did not, I say to you directly: my government will serve you.”
The speed of the transition was phenomenal. The morning after the election, both Sunak and Starmer visited King Charles for ceremonial blessings, as tradition demanded. Shortly after handing in his resignation to King Charles, Sunak moved out of 10 Downing Street. Then, his black Range Rover was spotted beetling along a narrow country road as the MP for Richmond and Northallerton went home to his North Yorkshire constituency. Within 40 minutes, Starmer and his family moved into 10 Downing Street, without any issue of renovation or refurbishment of the official residence.
The simplicity was unprecedented, especially for Africans used to long wait for new governments to take shape. There was no constitution of transition committee and reports, no inauguration ceremony or invitation to any local and foreign invitee to attend/witness the handover process. There was no drama about the elections, no dissenting voices, no daggers drawn, no open expressions of blame, and no threat of legal battles over the outcome of the election.
There was absence of power of incumbency, vote buying, thuggery or hijacking of the electoral umpire and declaring fake results. It was democracy in action, with free and fair elections as the bedrock. Indeed, the British election made democracy interesting.
Nigerians, resident at home and abroad, keenly followed the election, with those in the UK, having the right to vote, sharing pictures of their active participation and even campaigned for their preferred candidates.
And because of the position of the UK as Nigeria’s former colonial master, Nigerians are keenly watching the new government, especially its immigration policy. This is because in 2022, a report published by the UK Home Office revealed that Nigeria had the highest number of migrants to the UK and became the third largest nationality group in the country. Also, Nigerian nationals saw the largest relative increase in sponsored study grants compared with 2019, increasing by 57,545, which represents a 686 per cent increase, to a record high of 65,929 migrants.
We at Daily Trust congratulate the UK citizens on the election and urge the new government to seize the moment. The Labour government must muster the required political imagination and understand that the electorate is disenchanted with establishment politicians. In the latest British Social Attitudes Survey, a record high of 45 per cent “almost never” trust governments to put the nation’s interests first, up from 34 per cent in 2019.
After all, it faces huge challenges, including improving struggling public services and remodeling the health system. It also includes reviving a weak economy and social malaise resulting in part from the UK’s exit (Brexit) from the European Union and the effects of the war in Ukraine. A recent report by Cambridge Econometrics suggests Brexit has cost the UK economy £140 billion and two million jobs. Instead of stopping the unlimited inflow of EU citizens as promised, net immigration surged, from 200,000 pre-Brexit to 745,000 in 2022.
Perhaps, it is time for Britain to work towards making the Commonwealth of Nations, the 56-member association of former British colonies with 2.5 billion population, a common market. This will deepen bilateral relationships.
Most importantly, we commend the UK for clearly showing that in democracy, the power of the voter must be respected. All stakeholders put their country before any primordial interests. These attributes should be emulated by Nigerians and other members of the Commonwealth.