After 14 years' rule, UK Conservatives face humiliating election loss

The UK goes to the polls on Thursday, to elect a new government.  Opinion polls suggest the ruling Conservative party could face a humiliating defeat, returning the Labour party to power after a 14-year gap.  

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been touring the country putting on a brave face, but his message "Don't give Labour a supermajority" is an admission that the Conservative party could face its worst election loss in decades.

At a rally in London on Tuesday night, Sunak urged supporters not to give up hope, telling a cheering crowd of wellwishers: "I say to all Conservatives, don't surrender to Labour, fight for every vote, fight for our values."

Sunak is the fifth Conservative party leader in those 14 years of power. David Cameron left after the 2016 Brexit referendum, the bitter aftermath of which eventually scuppered his successor Theresa May. Boris Johnson won a huge majority at the 2019 election but his scandal-ridden administration saw him resign after it emerged that he and his staff had repeatedly broken their own laws by holding a series of parties in the Prime Minister's residence during COVID lockdown.

Johnson's successor Liz Truss lasted 50 days, the shortest-serving prime minister in history. Her unfunded tax cuts spooked the financial markets, forcing the Bank of England to raise interest rates, causing inflation and higher mortgages.

If there is one abiding legacy of those 14 years, it's Brexit. It remains a highly divisive issue - but one which didn't feature prominently in this election. Instead, it was issues like the deteriorating state of the National Health Service and the cost of living crisis.

Labour leader Keir Starmer was out campaigning in Wales on Wednesday morning, repeating his core message "It's time for change." "We have to say over and over again, change only happens if you vote for it," Starmer stressed.

In the 2019 election, Labour suffered a humiliating defeat under the hard-left leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Starmer took over and has pulled the party back to the center - while the Conservatives have drifted to the right.

"We gave up being a party of protest five years ago," Starmer said. "We want to be a party of power." 

With Labour in such a strong position, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has spent the entire campaign performing media-courting stunts - bungee-jumping, falling off a paddleboard, enjoying waterslides and roller-coasters, and jumping into a lake to protest against sewage. 

It's kept him in the news and kept his party's hopes up. The centrist party is convinced disillusioned Conservatives will turn to them rather than Labour, re-establishing themselves as the country's third largest party.

One unknown is how Nigel Farage's new populist Reform Party will fare. Despite repeated pledges, the Conservative party has failed to stem the flow of migrants illegally crossing the channel from France. For many it's a hot-button issue - and while Reform may not win many seats, it is likely to take crucial votes away from the Conservatives. 

The polls close at 10 p.m. local time on Thursday. Britain's future will become clearer shortly after.

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