United Kingdom: Political Developments and Data in 2024

Abstract Rather than a widely expected autumn election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called one to be held on 4 July. His Conservative Party were reduced to just 121 seats, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer became the new Prime Minister. The change in administration led to some significant policy shifts towards the latter half of the year—in particular, the scrapping of the Rwanda scheme to tackle immigration. The new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, held a budget in October that criticised the economic management of the previous government and scrapped winter fuel payments for pensioners.