Predictions Based on the Opinion Polls in the UK

The elections in the United Kingdom gave the Labour Party virtually unlimited power with around one-third of the vote. This was due to the electoral system, but at the same time, it was obviously contrary to the general idea of democracy, where every political movement should have representation in the decision-making bodies—parliaments—that reflects their share of the vote as accurately as possible.

Thus, Keir Starmer became Prime Minister, and his government has "distinguished itself" by violently suppressing protests and restricting freedom of speech. You might expect this to be reflected in post-election party support polls.

Interestingly, according to Politico's published tracking, Labour's support has remained unchanged, as has the Conservatives'. However, the support for Nigel Farage's Reform UK and the Greens has increased by several percentage points, even though the latter, in particular, has no realistic chance of becoming a significant political player due to the peculiarities of the UK's electoral system.

Let’s consider what would happen if this trend continued until the next elections. In that case, Reform UK would surpass the Conservatives in support and perhaps even challenge Labour. However, this party differs from the other two in that its support is distributed much more evenly across the population and geography. Therefore, far fewer of its candidates would be elected in the UK’s single-member constituencies than would happen under a proportional electoral system.

Thus, Labour might continue to hold power in Britain even if its vote count ended up being smaller than that of Reform UK. Only a true landslide victory could make Farage the Prime Minister.

For this reason, it is not insignificant how the British people react to Starmer’s government policies. Will censorship of opinions and turning a blind eye to the behavior of immigrants cause Labour supporters to abandon Starmer, or will they see these—odd from a Finnish perspective—actions as reflecting their will as expressed in the elections?

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Swedish TV Did Not Learn Anything From the Riots in the UK
Why Were Violent Protests Acceptable for George Floyd but Not for the UK Child Murders?
Elections in the UK: A Shift Toward Hand-Waving Politics?

Elections in the UK: A Shift Toward Hand-Waving Politics?

In Finland, people are accustomed to a proportional electoral system where the number of representatives a party receives corresponds reasonably well to the proportion of votes it gets. Therefore, in Finland's 200-seat parliament, there are as many as nine parties, the largest of which has 48 representatives. This forces parties to form multi-party coalitions, resulting in relatively stable politics over time.

It's different in Britain, where the single-member district system has practically led to a two-party system. Other parties have little chance of getting their candidates elected, but they significantly influence the support of the two major parties.

Thus, the 14 percent support received by Nigel Farage's Reform UK party in the recent parliamentary elections resulted in the Labour Party gaining almost fifty percent more representatives than in the previous term with only about a two percent increase in support. Meanwhile, Reform UK itself received only a few seats.

At the same time, the previously ruling Conservative Party practically collapsed, and Britain is facing a radical change in political direction. According to the Labour party's election program, this will have unpredictable consequences especially for the country's domestic politics.

This is because, at least from here in Finland, the party's program seems more like hand-waving, that is, irresponsible redistribution politics rather than a serious political plan. This is because Britain's public finances are heavily indebted: the national debt is over 100 percent of the gross domestic product.

Of course, time will tell whether my impression is accurate or if it's just a Nordic prejudice. However, I wouldn't bet that the Labour Party's term in office will bring long-term success to the island nation.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
A National Rally election victory does not mean that France will become like Finland under the Finns Party
The future of all Europe is at stake
The most effective Russian agent in the UK