The United Kingdom general elections are scheduled for July 4, 2024. The election will seek to elect representatives for 650 seats, and the political party securing 326 seats will be able to form their government. The UK general election 2024 will determine the composition of the House of Commons and, subsequently, the Government of the United Kingdom. The election seeks to elect 650 representatives to the House of Commons, the majority standing at 326 seats.
Like India, the United Kingdom has several powerful political parties. The two major political parties of the United Kingdom are the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, both having dominated the United Kingdom political scene for the past 100 years.
The Conservatives are currently in power, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The conservatives pride themselves on having traditional views, opting for a method of stable, responsible governance, rather than radical changes and growth. They give importance to defence and national security, building the UK army to have a strong military capability. While the popular perception of the Conservatives is that they are dominated by the rich and the elites, they are also traditionally seen as strong and effective administration.
Facing the conservatives on July 4 will be the Labour Party, which has constantly pressurised and acted as a strong opposition in the past 14 years of the conservative government in the country.
The Labour Party, considered as the voice of the working class, is a progressive party that stands for social justice and believes in a stronger government involvement in the economy, as opposed to the Conservatives who believe in a free and liberal economic policy. The Labour Party also believed in maintaining strong foreign relations, and not building a strong defence.
Other parties contesting for election in the United Kingdom General Election 2024 are the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.
The country is currently in a pre-election period where ministerial and departmental activities are restricted, and the lower house of the United Kingdom stands dissolved. In the previous elections, the Conservatives secured 345 seats, labour secured 205 seats and the other oppositions as well as independent candidates bagged a total of 305 seats. Although the conservatives have been in power since 2010, there is a growing dispute amongst British nationals who are unsatisfied with the economy, rise in immigration and deteriorating national health services.
The United Kingdom is currently suffering through low growth and performing much worse than other developed countries. The slow rise in their economy has led to a housing crisis, as the cost of living has shot up, making the United Kingdom a lot more expensive in a very short period. The Covid 19 Pandemic and the Ukraine War made the revival of the economy much worse, as thousands suffer to make ends meet, the prices continue increasing, hurting the ordinary citizens.
A key issue of the election, the Labour Party promised to restore economic stability, reduce taxes and keep the government finances under control and transparent for the public. They have also started a program called “Get Britain building again” which is focused on investments in housing and modern infrastructure.
The inflation in the country has made healthcare a privilege. The National Health Service, a decades-old program that provided affordable and quality healthcare to citizens is now crumbling in a slow economy. Lack of funds and their inability to move ahead with time and equip themselves with better modern facilities, the NHS which was once a symbol of modern Britain has now become mediaeval.
The Labour Party, once again, has released a manifesto laying out their plans for the future and how they wish to make Britain great again. It plans a massive overhaul of the entire healthcare system to fix the failing NHS, which means hiring more health workers, building hospitals and reducing waiting times for appointments. However, there is a growing distaste amongst healthcare workers in the United Kingdom as they constantly have to go on strike and fight for a pay rise.
A pay hike would not be possible without better economic policies, for which the party wants to create a National Wealth Fund to spur investments in future technologies like clean energy, which would reduce their dependence on the import of fuel and build Britain into a clean energy superpower.
The Labour Party further aims at controlling electricity bills and involving the government extensively in public services, to reduce the cost borne by the big corporations upon common people.
However, the party is known for promising radical economic changes that don’t work out in the long run. The conservatives are gearing up to fight the Labour Party, as Rishi Sunak has vowed to fight for every vote and secure a fifth term for his party. The manifesto will be released ahead of the elections, while the party has still made public statements about reducing inflation and presented facts that the UK economy is growing faster than France, Germany and the United States of America.
The conservatives seek to reduce taxes, introduce support for low-income households and double the free childcare support. In addition, they wish to abolish national insurance, an unfair double tax on work and guarantee pensions triple lock. The Conservatives have also pledged an extra one billion pounds to the NHS, if they get elected.
The United Kingdom general elections in 2024 are all set to take place on July 4, 2024. The new government will determine the country’s foreign relations and impact on the global economy for the next five years.
Source Agencies
