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UK election

Today

Keir Starmer, UK prime minster: son of a toolmaker.

Albanese congratulates Keir Starmer on emphatic victory

The two prime ministers discussed the AUKUS submarines agreement, climate change policy and the war in Ukraine.

  • Tom McIlroy
Angela Rayner is deputy prime minister of the UK.

How Angela Rayner became one of Britain’s most powerful women

She grew up in dire poverty caring for a sick mother on a council estate. But Angela Rayner’s drive to succeed propelled her to the top of the Labour Party.

  • Louise Carpenter
Nigel Farage’s ambition will only have been fortified by his modest parliamentary breakthrough and the 98 seats where Reform is currently in second place, almost all of them to Labour.

The fight for the UK right has begun

Surrendering to the Faragist path rather than taking it on and defeating it would herald the end of the centre right and a capitulation to unserious politics.

  • Robert Shrimsley
Rachel Reeves said she would make it her mission to boost growth.

Shares up as UK treasurer vows to ‘work hand-in-glove’ with business

The FTSE 250 touched its highest level since April 2022 as Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister, powered by a rally for home-building stocks and property companies.

  • Updated
  • Chris Price, Alex Singleton, Ben Riley-Smith and Szu Ping Chan
Sir Keir Starmer makes a speech outside Downing Street.

‘We will fight until you believe again’: Starmer vows to fix Britain

Keir Starmer has officially become the UK’s new prime minister after a landslide victory in the polls and says he will lead a government focused on public service.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen
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The Muslim vote was a disaster for Starmer and could be for Albanese

An analysis of the 23 seats in the UK where Muslim Vote candidates opposed Labour, resulted in an unmitigated disaster for the party. Repeated here, it would be a wipeout for Labor in western Sydney.

  • John Black

Yesterday

Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer takes charge at a 5am speech on Friday morning.

Starmer can help Britain redeem itself

With a towering majority, a well-disciplined team and a ruthless instinct for power, Keir Starmer can restore some of the respect the Tories destroyed.

  • Adrian Wooldridge
Keir Starmer UK Labour leader

Labour’s sweeping victory in Britain is terrible news for Peter Dutton

The UK general election was fought over problems that are familiar to many Australian voters, which is why the outcome looks bad for the Coalition.

  • Aaron Patrick
Keir Starmer - the new man in town.

Gaza backlash and other key lessons from UK’s election

Gaza has shaken up the left, populism is shaking up the right. Labour’s majority is less secure than it seems, but Keir Starmer’s dullness could be an asset.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen
Former UK prime minister Liz Truss is in danger of losing her seat as counting continues.

Former PM Liz Truss loses her seat

Labour claims majority; Rishi Sunak calls Starmer to concede; the country’s shortest-serving leader loses her seat. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Andrew Hobbs and Lucy Slade

Knives out: Tory collapse sparks bitter blame game

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under fire after an exit poll shows the Conservative Party is set for the worst result in its history.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Fisher
Australian PM Anthony Albanese and British Labour leader Keir Starmer.

‘Politicians are being voted out’: Warning for incumbents in UK result

Geopolitical and polling experts said the British poll showed fragmentation and populism, trends that could play into Australia’s 2025 election.

  • Tom McIlroy and Patrick Durkin
Jimmy Lai.

Why Britain’s new PM could hold the key to Jimmy Lai’s freedom

Keir Starmer cut his teeth as a barrister at the same firm as Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who is fighting for the release of Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai.

  • Gus McCubbing and Hannah Wootton
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after acknowledging Labour had won the election.

The Conservatives imploded. Labour simply filled the vacuum

Labour’s landslide shares some parallels with Tony Blair’s 1997 win but those end with Keir Starmer’s small target strategy and threadbare policy.

  • Michael Turner
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UK Labour leader Keir Starmer have swapped notes extensively.

Why Starmer’s victory in Britain should scare Albanese

The Australian prime minister now has an ideological bedfellow in the UK. But he also has something in common with the loser: incumbency.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
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Londoner Mat Morrison voted Labour for the first time in the UK election.

How London turned against the Tories

London might be the home of the professional and business elite but the UK election result effectively shut the Tories out of the English capital.

  • Mark Ludlow
The Aston Martin logo, featuring a union jack flag, is featured at the London Stock Exchange.

How to get rich from Keir Starmer in Number 10

With the British Labour party set for a huge victory in the polls, investors have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. This is where to look for the biggest profit.

  • Richard Evans

This Month

Labour leader Keir Starmer will probably have something to smile about.

Labour set for landslide win as UK votes

Britons began casting their ballots, as opinion polls suggest a Labour win of historic proportions. But the many tight three-way contests could still deliver a surprise.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen
Keir Starmer UK Labour leader

How will Keir Starmer change the UK?

As a Labour government gets set to take the reins after 14 years of Conservative rule, what will Starmer do with power in his first 100 days and beyond?

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen
Boris Johnson at the campaign event this week.

Boris Johnson in surprise late move to avert Tory wipeout

Making his first public appearance of the campaign, the former prime minister said Labour would “destroy so much of what we have achieved”.

  • Alex Wickham

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/uk-election-1na9