by Mick the Ram

Labour, under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer, has stormed to victory in the UK’ General Election, with the party securing a landslide win and bringing the country a change in government, after 14 years of Conservative rule.

With just a trickle of seats left to be decided, Labour had won an astonishing 411 seats out of a possible 650 to gain an overwhelming majority in the house.

By contrast, a record number of Conservative Cabinet ministers lost their seats in what became the Tories’ worst-ever election result. They fell from a healthy 368 to a meagre 119 seats and many of them only just scraped in.

It marks a spectacular turnaround since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an 80-seat Conservative majority and Labour suffered its worst result since 1935.

Outgoing Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, accepted responsibility for the heavy defeat and apologised to his Tory candidates, after congratulating his successor.

The Liberal Democrats were also celebrating after winning their highest number of seats since the party’s creation, securing at least 71 seats, which incredibly is a massive 63 up on their previous standing.

Reform UK’s controversial leader Nigel Farage was one of four candidates for his party to win a seat in Parliament and remarked that he believed it was the “beginning of the end for the Tory party”.

There will be a record number of female MPs in the new House of Commons with 261 elected to sit, passing the previous record of 220 at the election in 2019.

Formal processes set to take place

Mr Sunak has arrived back into London, having flown down from his night in his own Yorkshire constituency. He will formally tender his resignation to King Charles III in the coming hours, after which the monarch will ask Sir Keir Starmer to lead the new government in a meeting that traditionally happens at Buckingham Palace.

In line with tradition, Mr Sunak will be expected to vacate Downing Street quickly, to allow his successor to move in straight away.

Sir Keir “ready to serve”

Sir Keir for his part, was upbeat at becoming only the seventh-ever Labour PM, addressing a cheering crowd after hearing confirmation of his majority: “We did it… Change begins now”.

With his wife Victoria by his side, he spoke of four-and-a-half years of work in changing the party. “This is what it is for – a changed Labour Party ready to serve our country, and ready to restore Britain to the service of working people,” he said.

Continuing, he talked about people across the country waking up to the news with relief that a weight has been lifted, and a burden finally removed from the shoulders of the nation.

He also spoke of looking forward to “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.”

Blair’s congratulations

Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair offered his “heartfelt congratulations” to Sir Keir on what he called “a stunning victory and an historic achievement”.

He hailed the new PM highlighting that to take the Labour Party from where it was to where it is now “has taken immense skill, courage and leadership.”

Dejected Sunak accepts defeat

A sombre-looking Rishi Sunak held onto his own Northallerton seat with a nearly 13,000 majority over his nearest rival, but called the overall result a “sobering verdict” on his party as a whole.

He accepted responsibility and apologised to the “many good, hard-working Conservative candidates who lost tonight, despite their tireless efforts, their local records and delivery, and their dedication to their communities – I am sorry.”

He went on to say that power had changed hands in a peaceful and orderly manner, with goodwill on all sides, and remarked that at least that was something that should give people confidence in the country’s stability and future.

Major ministers fall one after another

Many “big name” ministers within the Conservative party were defeated, including former PM, Liz Truss; Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps; Leader of the House, Penny Mordaunt; and former Home Secretaries: James Cleverly and Suella Braverman.

Record-breaking Lib Dem’s

Meanwhile, Sir Ed Davey, whose stunt strategy has injected some comedy into the Liberal Democrats campaign, celebrated becoming the UK’s third largest party again, something they have not held since 2015.

He said: “This is a record-breaking night, we have swept to victory in seats from Land’s End to John O’ Groats and I am humbled by the trust that millions of people across the country have put in us.

Officially in position by end of day

Everything should happen relatively smoothly over the course of the rest of the day. Mr Sunak will make a speech outside Number 10 Downing Street, before shooting off to officially resign his position.

Shortly afterwards the King will invite Sir Keir to form the next government and the UK will have their next PM in place.