Labour has won the 2024 General Election bringing to an end 14 years of a Conservative Government. Two seats are still to declare but Labour is currently on 412 seats (the number of seats needed for a majority in the House of Commons is 326) and has gained more than 200 new seats.

Sir Keir Starmer has been formally appointed Prime Minister by the King and over the weekend, the new Government is expected to be formed and cabinet ministers appointed, with junior ministers appointed in the following days.

The new Parliament will meet on 9 July. Firstly, they must elect a Commons speaker, followed by the swearing in of MPs and peers, which usually takes two to three days.

The King’s Speech, as part of the state opening of Parliament, will take place on 17 July and will give the new Government the opportunity to set out its priorities for the new parliamentary session.

A date will be set for summer recess and the new Chancellor may announce the date for a Budget.

What it means for the West End

When the Cabinet and junior ministers have been appointed, we will write to relevant ministers on our priority issues, including crime, London’s role in the levelling up agenda and tax-free shopping for our international visitors.

Rachel Blake was elected as the new MP for the Cities of London and Westminster constituency securing 15,302 votes (Tim Barnes, the Conservative Party candidate secured 12,594 votes). We have worked closely with Rachel since she was selected as Labour’s candidate, including a meeting with our Board.

We will write to Rachel to congratulate her in the next few days and invite her to meet with some of our members to discuss how we can work together to deliver on both her and our priorities for the area.

Several Cabinet and Deputy Cabinet Members at Westminster City Council, including councillors Jessica Toale, Tim Roca and Ryan Jude have stood to be MPs across the country. Results this morning show that Tim Roca and Jessica Toale have won their seats so it is likely that their Council roles will need to be filled.

Commenting on the result, Ros Morgan, Chief Executive said:

“Congratulations to Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party for winning the 2024 General Election and to Rachel Blake – the new MP for the Cities of London & Westminster. 

With political alignment locally, regionally and nationally for the first time in a long time, there is hopefully now an opportunity to make a big difference on the key issues impacting London’s West End, such as the return of tax-free shopping for our international visitors, anti-social behaviour, rough sleeping and transport policy. 

The Heart of London area currently generates £10 billion for the UK economy and supports over 100,000 jobs – we look forward to working with the new Government and our new MP to achieve their and our priorities, with a particular focus on boosting economic growth.” 

If you have any questions about what the General Election means for the Heart of London area, please contact Antonia Stratford, our Head of Public Affairs and Company Communications, at antonia@holba.london.

Image credit: @nckkne