Huge win for Labour in UK; Keir Starmer to be new PM
LONDON, July 5, 2024
Labour Party has won a landslide in the UK general election and party leader Keir Starmer will be the new Prime Minister.
Sir Keir Starmer has led the Labour Party to a landslide victory in the UK general election and will take over from Rishi Sunak as the UK's Prime Minister.
With more than 500 out of 650 seats declared, Labour is projected to form the next government, with a majority of 166, a BBC report said.
Speaking in central London, Sir Keir said "change begins now", adding "it feels good, I have to be honest".
Sunak said he accepts responsibility for the Conservative Party's historic general election defeat.
Sunak told supporters: "The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn... and I take responsibility for the loss."
High-profile Conservatives have lost their seats, including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Penny Mordaunt.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has become an MP for the first time, and the party's Richard Tice and Lee Anderson have also won.
Ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn won Islington North as an independent, and Labour's Jon Ashworth lost to an independent.
Green Party's Carla Denyer won Bristol Central from Labour, while Scottish First Minister John Swinney says it's been a "very, very difficult and damaging" night for the SNP.
With more than 580 seats now declared, the BBC forecast that the final vote share across Great Britain will be: Labour - 35% (+2); Conservatives - 24% (-21); Liberal Democrats - 12% (0); Reform - 15% (+13); Green - 7% (+4).
This will be by far the worst Conservative performance ever in terms of vote share, it said.
Labour's vote is slightly below that secured by Tony Blair in 2005 and will be the lowest share of the vote won by any single party majority government.
The Tories are set for the worst result in their history. They have lost more than 170 seats and are forecast to be left with just 136 MPs.
Sir Keir told cheering Labour supporters the country was waking up to "the sunlight of hope" which was "shining once again on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back".
He added: “Now we can look forward – walk into the morning.”
