LONDON, July 4. /TASS/. The United Kingdom will vote in elections to the House of Commons between 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time to allocate 650 mandates in the UK parliament’s lower chamber.
The majority will have the right to form the new UK government.
Surveys have shown that the Labour Party, led by 61-year-old Keir Starmer, is about 20 percentage points ahead of its main electoral rival, and the Conservatives have so far been unable to improve their standings.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his office made several major blunders recently, which may cost them even more mandates. In early June, the premier had to apologize over his decision to leave the D-Day’s 80th anniversary events in Normandy early.
Subsequently, members of his team became embroiled in an investigation by the Gambling Commission, which suspected widespread betting by the premier’s supporters on the date of the general election, which they apparently knew before the official announcement.
Farage’s factor
Nigel Farage, who helped champion the UK’s departure from the European Union, announced that he will again lead his right-wing populist Reform UK party and participate in the election. This became a major blow for the Conservative Party, which was forced to fight on two fronts - against the Labour Party on the left and Reform UK on the right.
Statistics
A public survey, conducted by YouGov ahead of the polls, showed that the Labor Party was on its way to getting 431 mandates (up 229 from the 2019 polls), beating the 1997 record set by former leader and prime minister Tony Blair (419 mandates). If successful, the Labor Party will secure the best result for any party beginning from 1832.
The Conservative Party may count on 102 parliamentary seats, which is 263 less than in 2019 and will be the party’s worst-ever electoral results.
Even leading Conservative political figures, such as Defense Minister Grant Shapps and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are not guaranteed to win in their respective constituencies.
The Liberal Democrats, who vowed to bring the UK back into the common EU market, are projected to come third, with 72 mandates. This is six time higher than what the party got in 2019.
Final results are expected in the early hours of July 5.
Relations with Russia unchanged
The UK Labour Party’s program reflects the anti-Russian attitude of the United Kingdom’s political establishment, therefore Russian-UK relations are unlikely to change if Labour Party leader Keir Starmer rises to power following the July 4 general election, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin has told TASS.
"I don’t think Russia’s relations with the UK will improve under Starmer. Just like the entire Labour Party leadership, he fully shares the incumbent government’s ideas and follows them to the letter," the ambassador said.