Shownotes Transcript
Has the Conservative Party in the UK been wiped out for a generation? Some would suspect so. Look, I doubt it. Politics has changed and things in politics all over the world can change really quickly these days. Today has been an absolute disaster for the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Tories. And Sir Keir Starmer, I actually saw him crack a smile. I didn't think the bloke smiled. Maybe that's what you want in a Prime Minister, somebody who is stern and solid. But I think he smiled today.
His Labor Party has crushed the Conservatives. Counting is continuing, even though it's very early in the morning in London. As things stand at the moment, Labor has 395 seats. The target was 326. The total of the House of Commons, it's just huge compared to what we have here in the lower house, is 650. At the moment, the Conservatives have 105 seats.
It's predicted they'll finish with about 130, 131. Labor probably around 410. So it's a massive majority for Keir Starmer. But there had been some polls during the campaign that the Conservatives would be left with less than 100 seats, maybe 70, 80 seats. Now, if that had have occurred, then you could legitimately say that Labor would be in power for a generation. That hasn't quite happened. Now,
I'm not saying this is good for the Conservative Party, but they haven't been completely destroyed. It gives them some sort of base to work from in the future. However, you would think it would be at least a two-term Labor government, and their terms are five years, so looking at least 10 years. But they do have something to work with. Richie Sunak has congratulated Labor and their new Prime Minister. The Labor Party has won this general election, and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.
Today, power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner, with goodwill on all sides. That is something that should give us all confidence in our country's stability and future. The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight. There is much to learn and reflect on, and I take responsibility for the loss. There's much to learn and reflect on. Maybe just a tip.
maybe when you announce you're going to the polls, don't do it standing in the pouring rain. Now, I know that might seem minor and a little flippant, but I was on air the night that the Prime Minister announced the election, and I cast my eyes, and we took it live on the station, and I cast my eyes on the feeds that were coming in from overseas and watching him becoming wetter and wetter and wetter during his speech outside Number 10. And I thought, what are you doing? It looked embarrassing.
And then we heard in the background, music playing, Things Can Only Get Better from, and I'm sure you were a big fan of them in the early 1990s, the band Dream. It was the theme song to Tony Blair's 1997 campaign. And there it was, almost drowning out Richie Sunak. And that was the start of the election campaign. Would you not think maybe somebody could have stood next to him with an umbrella, perhaps? Maybe, just maybe, they could have announced the election date inside.
then they wouldn't have had people blaring out the wonderful tunes, things can only get better from Doreen. Keir Starmer will be the new Prime Minister once he's sworn in and he has promised to serve everyone. I don't promise you it will be easy. Changing a country is not like flicking a switch. It's hard work, patient work, determined work and we will have to get moving immediately. But even when the going gets tough, and it will, remember...
tonight and always, what this is all about.
Nigel Farage and his Reform Party made a lot of noise during the campaign, attracted plenty of attention, and it's worked. It looks like they'll have 13 seats once counting has wrapped up. And Farage has tried to get into Parliament for years. He's finally done it. He says he's coming after Labor. Now, 13 seats is nowhere near Labor's 400-plus or the Tories' 130-odd, but it looks like they'll finish second in potentially a few hundred seats, and that shows they're a growing force. And I think what that also indicates overall...
And the same applies to politics in this country. There is dissatisfaction with major parties. I said that the Tories have probably avoided being wiped out for a generation, but unless they change, it may well be the Reform Party that ends up being part of that future generation.
What does it actually mean for us? In the end, that's what's important. We have matters of trade, the Yorker Steel, for instance. Does all that still continue? Well, Alexander Downer, our former foreign minister, and did serve as the High Commissioner in London, will join us a little later this hour. We'll find out.
