The UK election was one of a kind.  

While this election was seemingly uneventful or even boring, the results have proven that this election will be remembered for decades to come. Not only is this the first Labour government in 14 years, and a historic loss for the Conservatives, but rather worryingly, this election saw the lowest voter turnout since 2001.  

The general mood surrounding this election made it clear that the nation was not happy with either candidate for Prime Minister, with polls unusually suggesting that Sir Keir Starmer would become PM with a very low approval rating. Only 33.8% of people voted for the winning party nationally, demonstrating a level of apathy towards politics. Not only has this questioned the first-past-the-post system which gave Labour a majority of 172, but it has left many wondering why there is such indifference towards politics. 

Young people are known non-voters, but in this election, many chose to use their voices to condemn the Labour Party’s handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict. Those feeling stuck; disheartened with Labour and unwilling to vote for the Tories, chose to support Independents or not vote at all. So-called ‘safe’ Labour seats also lost their large majorities, with the new Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, only holding a majority of 528. How this affects the legitimacy of the Labour government, might be something worth pondering in the coming months.  

The centre-right were also left wondering who to vote for and again, many didn’t vote at all. Those that did vote however, expressed their discontent by voting for the Reform Party.  

Labour was also affected by Reform. Populism, by nature, incites passion and the use of language excites in ways that Kier Starmer and the Labour Party were unable to utilise. Starmer seems to have a reputation of being dull and unfortunately, his campaign strategy seemed to have the same status. While Ed Davey was going down waterslides, Channel 4 was investigating Reform and the Tories were dealing with mistake after mistake, Labour led steadily with the cautious ‘Ming-Vase’ strategy. 

This strategy meant that the Conservative campaign fell apart while Labour were left unharmed by their cautious approach. But the lack of charisma, the lack of passion and the endless repetitions meant that many found what is supposed to be a large cultural event, rather uneventful. As a result of this, many chose not to engage in the election. 

Many however say that after 14 years of living through exciting, yet disastrous times, having a leader who is ‘boring’ is exactly what British politics needs. There is no denying that Starmer’s ‘Ming Vase’ strategy worked, but it could have left many disillusioned with politics. 

These disastrous times mentioned above, could also be the reason so many people are so disinterested in politics. For so long it has felt like our politicians have not had our best interests at heart. From the broken promises of Brexit, to Partygate, to crashing the economy, the past governments have left this country in a poorer and more divided state than before. As a result, our trust in politicians is at an all-time low, with 9% of the British public in 2023 saying they trust politicians to tell the truth. The reputation of politicians and MPs has been smeared with incompetency, unreliability and the idea that politicians ‘are all the same’.  

But why should this matter? 

Arguably, because of the rise of populism. The apathy that people have toward politics, and the lack of moderate voters and voices, meant that the extremist rhetoric of Reform was amplified, and resulted in five parliament seats for a party that is only five years old. The peaceful protests that have outnumbered the far-right riots show how much the British public believes those people do not represent this country or its politics, but that is not what the election demographics say. These figures have legitimised this rhetoric by saying it is part of the majority when, unequivocally, that is not true.  

Hopefully, people feel a level of hope with this new government, even if the party that won is not who they wanted. Despite the peaceful protests, many have wanted to disassociate from politics if they have not already, and ignore what is going on in this country and other parts of the world. While taking a step back from the news and taking care of yourself is important, I hope you realise that your voice matters and it matters even when it doesn’t feel like it.