Keir Starmer’s Historic Win in the UK Fueled by Betting Scandal

Since Brexit, the United Kingdom has been searching for political stability. In that search, six prime ministers were changed and only recently, the country held its general election.

Over the last month, a number of cases involving Conservatives wagering on the date of the election were uncovered. With the cases, the support for the political party marked a sharp decline. The disappointment of the voters is evident, considering the results from the latest general election which was held Thursday.

Preliminary results show that the Conservative Party took 121 parliamentary seats, while its biggest rival, the Labour Party, took 412 out of the 650 total seats.

Securing a majority of more than three times marked the best result for Labour for nearly two decades. On the other hand, the political outcome represented the worst result for the Conservatives in its history.

The Betting Scandal Had a Negative Impact on the Tories

Recognized as a major moment in British politics, the latest general election is expected to see Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, become the new prime minister of the country. But Starmer’s solid victory somehow didn’t come as a surprise, considering the election gambling scandal that was looming just ahead of the day when residents of the country finally cast their votes.

However, it wasn’t only the Conservatives, who are also known as Tories, that had trouble with gambling. Late last month, media reports uncovered that one of the Labour’s candidates, Kevin Craig, allegedly placed a bet against himself. This resulted in his suspension from the party, while the country’s gambling regulator, the Gambling Commission, launched an investigation into the candidate’s actions.

Michael Gove, one of the British political veterans, who was recently interviewed by the Sunday Times, spoke about the devastating impact of the gambling scandal on the Tories. He said that the scandal “sucked out the Oxygen” from the party’s election campaign.

Gove compared the impact of the looming betting scandal that involved Tory candidates to “Partygate,” a political scandal that erupted amid the COVID-19 lockdowns when footage of parties with politicians leaked.

In the broader context, the country has already started the overhaul of its gambling sector. Yet, it is unclear whether the change in the political climate would impact this process positively or lead to further unexpected delays.