By Dr. Nana Sifa Twum, Media and Communications Consultant
The United Kingdom has elected Sir Keir Starmer as its new Prime Minister after a landslide election victory on 4th July 2024. Sir Keir Starmer becomes Britain’s new Prime Minister, having led the Labour Party to sweep the general elections to victory after 14 years in opposition. He assumed office as the 79th Prime Minister and is also Britain’s fifth Prime Minister in eight years. He is the third Prime Minister in two months and the party’s fifth Conservative Party leader since the Brexit Referendum of 2016.
He succeeded Rishi Sunak, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was declared the new leader of the Conservative Party on October 24, 2022, amidst severe confusion within the Conservative Party. Rishi Sunak’s leadership brought some level of stability within his party, at least for the past two years that he assumed office. His tenure saw the partial end of severe economic turbulence, some stability, and unity in the country when there were three Prime Ministers in two months, a situation that was blamed on the previous two Prime Ministers, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Mr. Sunak failed to repair the harm done to his party by the convulsions of his four predecessors.
A manifesto that promised tax cuts to pensioners and national service for the youth made little difference, so did the increasingly shrill warnings in the closing days of a Labour “supermajority.” The Labour Party’s victory last Thursday marked one of the most successful corporate turnarounds in British political history. Sir Keir took control of a party that had been shattered by its defeat under Jeremy Corbyn in 2019.
The indigenous British believe that Britain has not been the same since then and worked towards a change in the political leadership of the country. Since the announcement of elections last year, the Labour Party led by Sir Keir has been asking the electorate for a large mandate to revive Britain’s economy. His tally of 412 seats out of 650 has granted him a crushing majority of at least 170. It is deemed as the largest since Sir Tony Blair and greater than those of both Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher, the 20th century’s two most transformative Prime Ministers.
Sir Keir’s victory message at the Tate Modern Gallery in Central London sums up all the concerns of the people of Great Britain. He was of the view that there would be a great political and economic transformation. In his words, “We can look forward again, walk into the morning. The sunlight of hope, pale at first, but getting stronger through the day. Shining once again on a country with the opportunity to get its future back.”
The new Prime Minister of Britain, who was elected as a Member of Holborn and Saint Pancras in May 2015 and elected leader of the Labour Party in April 2020, Sir Keir Starmer says he will start working immediately on rebuilding the country. He promised a big reset to calm the waters after 14 times of turbulent years of Conservative government. He announced the end of the controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, saying it is “dead and buried.” Sir Keir has also ruled out rejoining the European Union single market or customs union. His party has indicated it is still possible to remove some trade barriers with the bloc.
In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government and advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its Minister. As modern Prime Ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as Members of Parliament. It therefore has huge global links and responsibilities. From global challenges like Gaza and Ukraine to domestic issues such as the deals with Tata Steel and Shein, lies ahead for Keir Starmer. He has expressed his desire to focus on long-term growth, but as he gets to grips with that challenge, his first few months are packed.
The United Kingdom is already a leading investor in Africa, as in 2018 alone, its Development Finance Institution made investment support to more than 370,000 jobs across Africa. Since 2002, the United Kingdom’s Private Infrastructure Development Group has invested more than £1.95bn in 146 infrastructure projects across Africa. The stock of United Kingdom investment in Africa is worth £39bn in 2018.
The new businesses, especially the international financial gurus and the market movers, such as Citigroup, JP Morgan, Chase & Co, and Morgan Stanley are planning for any eventuality. Will Sir Keir Starmer have something different for Africa and Ghana for that matter? Time will tell.
As the dust settles on Thursday’s result, what has become clear now is the expectation of the masses of the Labour Party, its leader in particular, and the mandate to deliver change. A mandate, not just to govern, although that is certain, but one that has to put trust in the party to change the country and to deliver. As in the words of Sir Starmer, “It’s a mandate to do politics differently.”
We wish him and the Labour Party well.