President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) congratulated the leader of the English Labor Party, Keir Starmer, on Friday (5) for his victory in the UK general elections on Thursday (4) by a majority. He defeated the current Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, representing the worst defeat after 14 years in power.
“I would like to welcome Keir Stamer, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom elected by the Labour Party. I wish him a great term in office. He can count on Brazil to strengthen diplomatic ties between our countries, sustainable development and the strengthening of democracy,” Lula said on social media.
Lula met with Starmer at the end of last year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates during COP28.
With almost all 650 seats in the new Parliament defined on Friday morning (5) — with only three remaining to be announced on Saturday (6) — the center-left party won 412 seats, more than double the 202 in the last legislature and its best result since the record 418 seats obtained by Tony Blair in 1997.
By contrast, Sunak’s Conservatives were left with just 120 seats, a significant drop from the 365 in 2019 when Boris Johnson won on a promise to deliver Brexit.
After being re-elected as MP for Richmond and Northallerton, Sunak conceded that Labour had won the election. Starmer followed suit and said that “change starts now”.
Sunak, in turn, congratulated Starmer on his victory and apologised for his party’s disastrous results. “Today, power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly way, with goodwill on all sides. This should give everyone confidence in the stability of our country and its future,” he said.
In keeping with constitutional tradition, Sunak presented himself at Buckingham Palace to formally resign as prime minister before Starmer took office. Ahead of his meeting with King Charles III, he announced that he would also resign as leader of the Conservative Party once his successor was elected, following the party’s heavy defeat.
Accompanied by his wife, Akshata Murty, the soon-to-be former prime minister stressed that the British people “have sent a clear message” and that in the end it is “the only judgement that matters.” Sunak praised Starmer, calling him a “decent” politician.
“Although he was my political opponent, Keir Starmer will soon become our Prime Minister. In this job, his successes will be our successes, and I wish him and his family the best. Whatever our differences in this campaign, he is a decent man and I respect him,” he said.
After his audience with the king, Sunak left the palace to return to his constituency in the North of England. It will then be Starmer’s turn to go to the palace to receive the monarch’s request to form the new UK government.
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