UK’s general election features Labour’s Keir Starmer, Conservative Rishi Sunak, Nigel Farage, and minor parties potentially influencing the outcome.

The general election on Thursday is being viewed as one that could bring down the 14-year reign of the Conservative Party or bring back the Labour Party to power for the major political change that the United Kingdom is going to witness. It is made even more interesting with several leading and influential public figures competing to steer the country along in the future. Here’s a closer look at the main contenders and their stakes in this pivotal election.

Keir Starmer: Labour’s Pragmatic Leader

Labour’s 61-year-old former human rights attorney and director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, is the man being set up as the likely next prime minister. Starmer replaced Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the Labour Party in April 2020 and is respected for having repositioned the party to the center, as well as dealing with such problems as anti-Semitism in the party’s ranks.

Starmer is steeped in the working-class background of a toolmaker father and a mother who was a nurse, both socialist. He was named after Keir Hardie, the founding father of the Labour Party. Therefore, there will always be an element of the honorific about Sir Keir Starmer, although it is a title he rarely uses.

Supporters see him as a safe pair of hands, a pragmatist able to navigate Britain through the choppy waters of post-decline. But others argue that Starmer, a cautious campaigner, symbolizes a leader without a clear plan. They try hard to tarnish his character by branding him an unexciting flip-flopper. But, overall, opinion polls suggest Keir Starmer does well on the best basis from which to lead Labour to power.

Rishi Sunak: Conservative Leader in the Eye of the Storm

44-year-old Conservative leader Rishi Sunak wants to be mandated by the British public after his party appointed him prime minister in October 2022. Sunak’s rise to the office had come at the expense of Liz Truss, whose economic policies had brought the markets into instability and in the end ousted her after a mere 49 days in office.

Sunak, the UK’s first British Asian and first Hindu prime minister, was seen as a former financier who was enlisted to bring calm to a government still reeling from the turbulent premierships of Truss and Boris Johnson. He has managed to make inroads in slashing inflation but struggled to fulfill other main promises, such as reductions in health waiting lists and curbs on irregular immigration.

Sunak’s campaign has been upended by a series of gaffes, starting with the poorly-received announcement of the election date, and criticism for attending just 15 minutes of one significant event. Partly as a result, his approval ratings are among the lowest for any prime minister and his re-election campaign uncertain.

Nigel Farage: The Perennial Outsider

Nigel Farage, described as a beer-swilling, chain-smoking face of the Leave campaign, remains one of the most divisive individuals in UK politics. Dubbed “Mr. Brexit” by former US President Donald Trump, Nigel Farage was a key figure in the 2016 Brexit referendum. But efforts to win a seat in Westminster remain fruitless.

Farage heads the hard-right Reform UK party, which is set to cut votes from the Conservatives in crucial constituencies. His campaign, however, has been dogged by racism scandals with the party cadre and his contentious remarks on international matters. A strong showing by Farage in the election can hurt the chances of the Conservative Party.

Major Influential Minor Parties: Swinney, Davey, and Denyer

By themselves, neither the Lib Dems under Davey nor John Swinney’s SNP is in a position to win the election on their own, but they both have an essential role to play in it. The Liberal Democrats under Davey hope to thwart a Conservative win by gaining seats in the south of England and trying to get back to being the third-biggest party in parliament.

Swinney is SNP the first minister now in the given Scottish Parliament and leads the party in the present in which a resurgent Labor party in Scotland is threatening its ambitions for Scottish independence. For the Green Party, the co-leader hopes her party will secure many more seats, and Carla Denyer points out the new constituency of Bristol Central.

Conclusion

When the UK goes into elections, it will be going to a crossroads where big political changes are afoot. Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is also the one most likely to challenge overall Conservative hegemony, although much of the focus will be on how people view Rishi Sunak’s performance under a withering campaign. Other major parties such as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and influential minors—the Liberal Democrats and SNP—will also play vital roles in determining the at-large winner of this free-for-all tussle. The outcome of this vote decides much, as it could indeed determine the future of the UK and the course of actions that the country takes.