Thursday Briefing

Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, addressed prospective voters in London.Credit…Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

Britons head to the polls

By Mark Landler

Britain votes today after a campaign that featured the same ingredients as other elections across Europe and the Americas: frustrated voters eager to reject the status quo, a deeply discredited government and a dash of populism.

But Britain is likely to emerge from the election as an outlier. While the electorates in other countries are shifting to the right, British voters are expected to evict the Conservative-led government after 14 years, in favor of the center-left Labour Party — zigging while others zag.

The Conservatives, or Tories, have presided over a tumultuous era that began with David Cameron in 2010. It included harsh budget cuts after the financial crisis of 2008; the Brexit vote of 2016; the Covid pandemic; and a revolving door of prime ministers. For many, it has come to seem like a circus that now needs to leave town.

Beyond the constant drama, Labour politicians charge that the Conservatives have broken Britain, including starving its revered National Health Service. Other experts note that Britain’s departure from the E.U. has slowed trade and handicapped economic growth.

Yet Labour’s priorities don’t seem all that different from those of the current government, which is no accident. Labour rejects the Tories less for the substance of their policies than for their hapless governance. It hopes to win over the many voters who are fed up with Conservative rule without frightening the ones who distrusted the tax-and-spend left.

Polls suggest the plan is working. Labour has led the Conservatives by double digits in polls for more than 18 months. The current Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has positioned himself as a plausible substitute for Sunak — a change agent but hardly a left-wing revolutionary.