Rishi Sunak has acknowledged defeat in the general election, paving the way for Sir Keir Starmer to become the UK’s first Labour prime minister in 14 years. In his post-election statement, Sunak described it as a challenging night for his party and took full responsibility for their significant losses. He confirmed Labour’s victory in the election and personally congratulated Sir Keir Starmer on his expected win.
Although final results are still being tallied, initial exit polls indicate that Labour is set to secure 410 seats, more than double their previous tally, and giving them a commanding majority of 170 in the House of Commons. This falls just short of Labour’s historic 179-seat majority under Sir Tony Blair in 1997.
The election results mark a decisive rejection of the Tories by the electorate, with the party projected to secure only 131 seats, its lowest in history according to the exit polls.
Noteworthy moments from the night include several Tory cabinet ministers losing their seats to Labour, such as Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt. Additionally, others fell victim to the Liberal Democrats’ strategy to challenge the Tory strongholds, including Alex Chalk and Gillian Keegan. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn retained his seat as an independent, while Nigel Farage of Reform UK finally won a seat after multiple attempts. Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer defeated Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth in Bristol Central, and Labour’s shadow paymaster general also lost his seat to an independent candidate.
Rishi Sunak, who became the youngest prime minister in modern times in 2022, first entered politics as the Conservative candidate for Richmond in 2014, succeeding William Hague. Following Liz Truss’s resignation, he assumed leadership of the Conservative Party and the prime ministership in October 2022, making history as the first Hindu and British Asian to hold these positions in the UK.
This developing news story continues to unfold, and more updates will follow shortly.
