While the seat count in this UK general election for Labour is far higher than 2019, their share of the vote is not. Keir Starmer's party won a 33.8% share of the vote, which is just 1.6% higher than what it ended up with five years ago, writes Aengus Cox.
What's eye-catching about this election isn't just Labour's massive landslide victory, but how they got there.
The UK consists of 650 one-seat constituencies. There's only one round of voting, so with no votes being transferred to other candidates in additional rounds, any vote share for a candidate that doesn't win is essentially wasted when it comes to counting towards the overall seat count. Reform has become a huge thorn in the Tories' side, after Mr Farage took over the leadership reins and ran as a candidate in the election.
In many of those seats, if the Conservative and Reform vote share were combined, it would have been enough to beat the respective Labour candidate. Whereas the Liberal Democrats won 12% of the vote in this election , but eclipsed Reform's seat numbers, winning 71 versus four.
UK UK Election 2024 World Politics UK Elections
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Farage ‘dismayed’ by campaigners’ ‘appalling’ comments as election push enters final weekCanvasser filmed by undercover Channel 4 reporter saying migrant boats should be used for ‘target practice’
Read more »
UK general election: can Nigel Farage turn hype into seats?We're about to see if the amount of attention which Farage and the Reform party receive can actually be turned into seats
Read more »
Reform UK rally: Boos and cheers at political Punch and Judy showEnthusiasm peaks at a bar-fuelled gathering of supporters of insurgent party headed by Nigel Farage
Read more »
Nigel Farage claims the EU and Nato ‘provoked’ Russia’s invasion of UkraineReform UK leader was challenged over a series of policies and beliefs while speaking to BBC’s Panorama
Read more »
The Irish Times view on the UK election: reckoning with the Farage factorThe Irish Government would welcome the calmer atmosphere a Labour government would bring, but would also be mindful of the support for Farage and its potential longer-term implications
Read more »
Fireworks and Farage: Reform UK leader brings anti-immigration political cabaret act to Clacton’s theatreNigel Farage packed out a theatre on Tuesday night in the centre of the Essex constituency where he is running to be the local MP
Read more »