‘Tory wipeout’; ‘Labour set to sweep power’: World headlines declare Rishi Sunak’s exit, welcome Keir Starmer era

Just as a wild free kick sails out of the football ground, Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party suffered a similar fate with the referee poised to blow the final whistle on their humiliating defeat to the Labour Party. There’s no need for extra time or a penalty shootout in this political match as the Labour Party swept the United Kingdom General Election 2024, leaving the Conservatives to chase the score.

With 326 out of 650 parliamentary seats needed for a majority, the Labour Party has already won 129 seats and is leading in 49. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have secured 19 seats and are trailing in 58 as the latest reports indicate.

The dramatic fall of the Conservative Party and the remarkable resurgence of the Labour Party are making headlines globally. Here are a few of them:

The New York Times headlined its lead story as ‘Labour Party Is Set for Landslide Win in U.K. Election’. In another story, it said ‘Keir Starmer Is Poised to Be Next U.K. Prime Minister’. Apart from these two headlines, there are a plethora of stories dominating the top of the newspaper’s website.

Unlike The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal showed far less enthusiasm. Its website displayed just one headline in the first view: ‘U.K. Labour Party On Track for Landslide Victory, Says Exit Poll’.

Then we have the Washington Post. One of its headlines said: ‘Landslide win for U.K.’s Labour ends 14 years of Conservative rule’. The newspaper is also providing live coverage of the vote counting for the United Kingdom General Election. It’s all about Keir Starmer now, and The Post captured the mood in this piece headlined ‘The intriguing real-life story of Keir Starmer, U.K.’s next prime minister’.

While the South China Morning Post is running a live blog on the UK election results, The Japan Times is featuring it as the lead story on its website. The headline reads: ‘U.K.’s Labour set to sweep into power with huge majority, exit poll shows’. Singapore’s The Straits Times has unleashed a package on the election results, and here is their main headline: ‘UK election: Labour Party set for impressive win, but faces rise of far-right Reform UK party’.

Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency has completely ignored the UK General Election, with no headline mentioning it on the homepage.

For Bloomberg, the UK parliamentary elections are being treated like a festival. This is their main headline: ‘Labour’s UK Election Landslide on Track With Big Tory Names Losing Seats’. There is also a live blog, graphics, and other stories all pointing towards the tumultuous defeat of the Conservatives.

Surprisingly, coverage of the UK parliamentary election is completely missing from Pakistan’s The Dawn newspaper. The Asia Nikkei has one story on the homepage about the UK election counting. It says: ‘U.K.’s Labour on course for massive election majority, exit poll shows’. China’s government mouthpiece, the Global Times, has a story on the UK election results on the homepage, with a clear message delivered to the upcoming government in the UK to maintain good ties with Beijing. Here’s the GT headline: ‘Polls predict win for Labour Party at UK election; new govt hoped to adopt more pragmatic policies in China ties’.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera is also providing live coverage along with other individual pieces on the UK election results.

Now let’s come to the newspapers from the UK.

For The Times in London, it is a tsunami of stories. The entire Politics section of the newspaper has been dedicated to the UK polls. There is no single headline to showcase; you will have to read the entire newspaper. For The Guardian, the entire top part of the website is dedicated to the UK polls.

Today, both the Labour Party and Keir Starmer are getting a rousing welcome via headlines from across the world. Tomorrow onwards, the scrutiny will begin.