The winner of Thursday's UK election will face one of the greatest challenges any new government has faced since the end of World War II. This election could end the Conservative Party's 14-year rule.
With sluggish economic growth, severe pressure on healthcare and other services, and little room in public finances to address these issues, the government also falls short on its targets for immigration and housing construction.
Polls indicate that the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, is far ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party. The following charts illustrate some of the major tasks facing the new government.
Like many other wealthy nations, the UK has experienced slow economic growth since the global financial crisis of 2008-09.
Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, the UK's economic growth has been stronger than that of Germany, France, or Italy, but the lead is minimal.
Taking into account population changes—due to high immigration rates, the UK's population has increased sharply—economic growth since 2010 has been weaker than Germany's and significantly lags behind the United States.
Standards of living could decline during this Parliament for the first time since the 1950s.
Sunak claims that the economy is improving after the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring energy prices. Starmer, on the other hand, asserts that the Labour Party will achieve the strongest sustained growth in the G7.
