‘Turning the Page’? The 2024 UK General Elections and First Implications of Labour's Landslide Victory

This article analyses the 2024 UK general election and the first implications of Labour’s landslide victory under Keir Starmer. Although Labour secured a commanding parliamentary majority, the result reflected a fragile electoral base, shaped by low turnout, high disproportionality under the first-past-the-post system, and a fragmented party landscape marked by the rise of Reform UK. The Conservative collapse followed 14 years in government, Brexit fatigue, economic stagnation, and declining trust in institutions, while Labour’s modest vote share increase translated into a substantial seat bonus. The article examines the election’s anatomy and assesses early developments at both domestic and international levels. Domestically, it evaluates Labour’s “mission-driven” approach to economic growth, regional inequality, and devolution, highlighting tensions between promises of transformative change and policy continuity, particularly in relation to “left behind” areas. Internationally, it considers Labour’s cautious strategy towards the European Union, arguing that despite rhetorical commitments to “reset” relations, the government has largely maintained Brexit’s fundamentals while pursuing pragmatic cooperation in areas such as security and defence. Overall, the article concludes that “turning the page” has proven more complex than anticipated, as structural constraints, electoral volatility, and geopolitical uncertainty limit the scope for radical policy shifts.