The Labour Party has secured a landslide victory in the UK election to end 14 years of Conservative rule. “We did it!” Keir Starmer, the Labour leader and incoming prime minister, said in his victory speech. “Change begins now.”
Outgoing Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceded defeat, saying it has been a “difficult night”.
There was a surge in support for the Liberal Democrats, while the populist right wing Reform UK party picked up support from disgruntled Conservative voters to win a clutch of parliamentary seats.
The Scottish National Party had what party leader John Swinney called a “very poor result” losing dozens of seats.
High-profile Conservative casualties included former Prime Minister Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Penny Mordaunt.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage becomes an MP for the first time, as the party netted four MPs.
Ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn won as an independent in Islington, while the Green Party’s Carla Denyer won in Bristol Central.
Key issues for voters in the UK included the cost of living, the health service and housing.
Speaking to the BBC, Home Secretary James Cleverly says the Conservatives “need to learn from this result” to try and get back into government as soon as possible.
Asked about former prime minister Liz Truss losing her seat, Cleverly pays tribute, calling her “a great parliamentarian”.
“Liz was a friend as well as a colleague,” he says, adding that he is “really sad” to hear the result.
And on his party’s performance in general, Cleverly says part of democracy is that there is always a “risk” you could lose an election.
“All we can do,” he says is “take a short period of time to think about what has happened and why and respond to it”.
But, he concedes, it was a “very, very bad result for us tonight”.
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