Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has secured a large majority at the 2024 general election.
Returning 412 MPs on a 34% share of the national vote, the party has secured an 86-seat majority. This is a similar-sized majority to the one Boris Johnson won for the Conservative Party in 2019. Three constituencies have still to declare at the time of writing.
Starmer, who is expected to be formally made Prime Minister by King Charles III later this morning, evoked Tony Blair in 1997 in his dawn victory speech. He said the “sunlight of hope” was now shining on the UK, and added that “a weight has been lifted” by the Tories’ defeat.
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It was a torrid night for Rishi Sunak’s party, which has (so far) lost 249 seats and a dozen former cabinet ministers. It will now be in opposition after 14 years of governing the country. The Conservative tally of 120 constituencies came after it lost almost half of its vote share with 24% of the ballots cast in its favour. However, it remained ahead of the Liberal Democrats (71 seats), the SNP (nine), as well as Reform UK and the Greens (both four).
So, with a Labour government coming into power, what are its key money policies – and how soon can we expect them to be enacted? We’ve rounded up everything you need to know.
When is Labour’s first Budget going to be?
We won’t know for certain how a Labour government will operate until Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her first fiscal event. She has previously pledged to deliver one with an Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) assessment of how her spending plans will affect the economy. The lack of an OBR report was part of the reason why Liz Truss’s mini-Budget almost crashed the UK economy in late-2021.
OBR reports take 10 weeks to put together. It means that if Reeves asked the independent public body to produce one as soon as possible, the earliest date by which it would be available would be Friday 13 September. There have been reports that the Chancellor may wait until October to deliver the set piece event.
What other key dates do we need to know about?
As well as question marks over when the next Budget will take place, we also don’t yet know when Labour will begin to set out its policy agenda in the House of Commons.
The summer months are usually when Parliament goes into recess. During this ‘holiday’ period, no bills pass through the House of Commons – although MPs and ministers will still technically be working.
There hasn’t been a recess yet this summer, and it’s likely one will be called at some point. When it is called, it will delay any new Labour legislation.
At the moment, we know Parliament will return on 9 July so that new MPs can be sworn in. They will then elect the new chairs and members of the various select committees that scrutinise the government’s bills.
Then, on 17 July, King Charles III will deliver the King’s Speech. This will set out the next government’s legislative agenda, so we’ll find out exactly what its policy priorities are for the coming year.
This piece is being updated
