ON Thursday, July 4, the United Kingdom (UK) will hold its national election for the first time in five years to elect a new Prime Minister.

All 650 members of the House of Commons will be elected by voters nationwide, with one representative elected for each local district and the results decided by a single round of voting.

Even though three major candidates are running on the Conservative, Labour, and Reform parties’ platforms, the Conservative and Labour parties are the front-runners.

The Conservative Party has ruled for 14 years, hence this election has the potential to significantly change the political landscape of which the Labour Party is currently perceived to have the strongest candidates.

While the Labour Party centres its campaign around change, the new Reform Party which is also contending with the Conservatives is focusing on the party’s failure to control immigration.

In this report, The ICIR profiles the two major contending candidates vying for the position of prime minister in the UK.

Rishi Sunak- Conservative Party

Rishi Sunak is the current and first British- Asian Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the leader of the Conservative Party.

He assumed office in October 2022 after the former Prime Minister, Liz Truss resigned. He is the 56th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Under Boris Johnson, Sunak had previously served in two cabinets and recently, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022.

From 2015 to date, he has been the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for the Richmond Constituency in North Yorkshire.

Announcing the election date, Sunak said that the exercise served as a time for Britain to choose its future, adding that it would be about “how and who they trust to turn that foundation into a secure future.

Sunak is 44 years old.

Keir Starmer- Labour Party

Keir Rodney Starmer is a 61-year-old British politician and lawyer who has led the Labour Party since 2020.

Before becoming a member of parliament in 2015 for Holborn and St. Pancras, he served as the Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales from 2008 to 2013.

If elected as Britain’s prime minister, Starmer pledges to bring about change and stability.

Asserting that a Labour government would not rejoin the now-27-member group, he opposed Britain’s choice to quit the European Union.

His party’s manifesto prioritises issues namely expanding childcare, hiring 6,500 more teachers, and offering free breakfast clubs in primary schools.

By improving housing laws, reorganising Universal Credit, and generating more steady employment, he hopes to increase economic security.