SIR Keir Starmer has led Labour to a landslide victory in the General Election and has promised the UK that “change begins now”.
Tory leader Rishi Sunak conceded defeat at around 5am, saying the Labour Party “has won this general election” and that he takes “full responsibility” for the Conservatives’ loss.
It was also a disastrous night for the SNP as the party lost seats throughout Scotland, although they held both seats in Aberdeen, where there are fears about Labour’s plans for the North Sea.
Elsewhere, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has won a seat in Parliament at his eighth attempt, in Clacton, promising “this is just the first step of something that is going to stun all of you”.
With many seats still to declare, Labour has already won more than 400 out of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.
The Labour leader said: “We did it. You campaigned for it, you fought for it, you voted for it, and now it has arrived: change begins now.
“It feels good, I have to be honest. Four and a half years of work changing the party, this is is what it is for: a changed Labour Party ready to serve our country, ready to restore Britain to the service of working people.
“And across our country, people will be waking up to the news, relief that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation.
“And now we can look forward, walk into the morning, the sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through the day, shining once again, on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back.”
Tories collapse
Rishi Sunak has said he accepts responsibility for the Conservative Party’s historic general election defeat.
Mr Sunak told supporters: “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn… and I take responsibility for the loss.”
With 37 seats left to declare, the Conservatives have so far secured just 108 seats.
Bad night for SNP
First Minister John Swinney has described the general election result as “very, very difficult and damaging” for the SNP.
As his party suffered a series of big losses, Mr Swinney said there would need to be “soul searching” following a “very poor result”.
Mr Swinney continued: “We’ve got to listen carefully, we’ve got to listen attentively, to what the public are saying to us in this election result and on a variety of other topics and questions around the country.”
The SNP was defending 48 seats of the 57 in Scotland but is likely to be reduced to around ten seats – its worst result since 2010.
Good night for Lib Dems
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said his party looks set to achieve its “best result for a century”, with predictions of wins in 66 constituencies.
That would represent a big increase on its performance in the 2019 election, when it returned to Parliament with just 11 MPs.
It unseated several ministers including Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer and Science Secretary Michelle Donelan.
The party had hoped to beat Jeremy Hunt in Godalming and Ash, but the chancellor held on to his seat by a majority of just 891.
Reform breakthrough
Elsewhere, Nigel Farage has been elected as an MP for the first time, as his Reform UK party won four seats.
The Reform leader overturned a 25,000 Conservative majority to take Clacton in Essex by more than 8,000 votes.
In a speech after the result was announced, Mr Farage said it was “the first step of something that is going to stun all of you”.