Left-wing parties have won both the United Kingdom and France elections, with Kier Starmer becoming Britain's new prime minister on July 5, and a coalition of French leftist parties won in the parliamentary election on Sunday. 

Starmer’s Labour Party secured 412 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons compared to the Conservatives’ 121 seats, and the French coalition stunned the country’s far-right, who were expected to win the election. The leftists however did not win a majority in parliament, only winning a majority of seats up for grabs in the election.

The election in the UK was one of its lowest voter turnouts in history, influenced by the lack of trust in the previous and new government as well as Labour’s stance on Gaza, which saw a sharp 60% decline from British Muslim voters since 2019. 

A founder of one of the left-wing parties in the coalition, Jean-Luc Melenchon promised on the campaign trail that recognizing Palestine would be one of the first things the new government would do if him and his allies were elected.

Read more about the UK election here.

Read more about the French election here.