Rishi Sunak accepted responsibility for the Conservative Party’s historic defeat in the general election. The Labour Party that is led by Sir Keir Starmer, has secured a landslide victory in the UK General elections settig the stage for Starmer to become the UK’s next prime minister.
Addressing his supporters, Sunak acknowledged the gravity of the situation. “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn… and I take responsibility for the loss.” he said as he reflected on the setbacks of the his party.
Sunak’s address to his supporters comes in contrast to Sir Keir Starmer who declared “Change begins now” while speaking in central London. He further added,”it feels good, I have to be honest.” Labour party is gearing up to form the next government with a resounding majority of 166 seats whilst more than 500 out of 650 seats have been declared.
Subsequently, the Conservative Party is reported to be facing its worst defeat in the history of the United Kingdom’s General elections. The party lost over 170 seats and is expected to be left with just 136 MPs. Starmer said, “the sunlight of hope” which was “shining once again on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back,” as he addressed the labour party supporters, emphasizing that his win marks the dawn of a new era. He stated that the country was waking up to “the sunlight of hope,” and added,” “Now we can look forward – walk into the morning,” as he encouraged the nation to be hopeful for the bright future ahead.
In a surprising development, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage secured a seat in Parliament on his eighth attempt, representing Clacton. Farage proclaimed,”this is just the first step of something that is going to stun all of you.” Reform UK now has four MPs, including chairman Richard Tice and former Tory Lee Anderson, and has made significant gains in several regions, drawing substantial votes away from the Conservatives.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) is expected to be left with only 8 Members of Parliament envisioning that Labour will regain power in Scotland again. More importantly, 18 Conservatives of the party’s government have been defeated in the election such as the Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, and former minister, ‘Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’.
The Liberal Democrats have been gaining from the drop in the number of Tory voters, they have now got 64 MPs so far breaking the previous record. They have managed to attain broad increments in the conventional Tory territories, including a significant conquest in David Cameron’s former area of residence, Witney. Lib Dem leader and woul-be Prime Minister Sir Ed Davey were seen dancing and singing along to “Sweet Caroline” with his supporters as they celebrated the victory in central London.
Also read: British Media On Why The Conservatives Are Set for ‘Historic’ Defeat
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn retained his Islington North seat as an independent, while another high-profile former Labour MP, George Galloway, failed to retain the Rochdale seat, losing to Labour’s Paul Waugh. The Green Party of England and Wales also saw success, with Carla Denyer winning in Bristol Central and co-leader Adrian Ramsay defeating the Conservatives in Waveney Valley. The Greens held on to Brighton Pavilion, tripling their number of MPs.
While Starmer’s projected majority falls short of Tony Blair’s 179-seat majority in 1997, it represents a significant shift, bringing a Labour prime minister to Downing Street for the first time since 2010. The Conservative Party faces a critical juncture, with speculation that Rishi Sunak may step down as leader.
Penny Mordaunt, who narrowly lost to Labour by 780 votes, hinted at a potential bid for Tory leadership, acknowledging that the party “had failed to honour the trust people had placed in it.’ This sentiment was echoed by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, who said, “We have to regroup and reconnect and actually just be a unified Conservative Party.”
The Conservatives saw their previous constituencies, which more or less had been theirs since the 19th and early part of the twentieth century, disappear in the shire counties of England. Former attorney general Sir Robert Buckland, the first Tory MP to lose his seat, said the situation was defeat on a “Premiere league scale” describing the campaign as “electoral Armageddon” and then criticized other colleagues as being “spectacularly unprofessional and ill-disciplined” during the campaign .
In Scotland, SNP First Minister John Swinney admitted the party had not effectively engaged the election on the main issue which was independence and opinion polls suggested large support.
“That’s not manifested itself in the election result tonight and that’s something we’ve got to look at very carefully as a party and to think about how we can remedy that situation,” he said.
