Britain’s new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised to rebuild trust in politics and restore hope to the nation after a landslide Labour victory in the General Election.
He said: "Now our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal and a return of politics to public service.
"When the gap between the sacrifices made by people and the service they receive from politicians grows this big, it leads to a weariness in the heart of a nation, a draining away of the hope, the spirit, the belief in a better future.
"But we need to move forward together. Now this wound, this lack of trust can only be healed by actions not words, I know that.
"But we can make a start today with the simple acknowledgement that public service is a privilege and that your government should treat every single person in this country with respect."
He said "my Government will serve you, politics can be a force for good", adding: "The work of change begins immediately, but have no doubt, we will rebuild Britain."
Sir Keir entered Downing Street as Prime Minister on Friday after a landslide victory which saw a dozen Cabinet ministers toppled in a nightmare rout for the Tories.
He officially became PM during in audience with King Charles before being driven back to Downing Street to lay out the core beliefs on how his party will govern.
Earlier, Rishi Sunak headed to Buckingham Palace to resign as after his decision to call an early summer election backfired so spectacularly.
Sir Keir took office after Labour won 412 seats, up 211, the Tories slumped by 250 to 121 to their lowest ever result, the Liberal Democrats soared to a record high 71 seats, gaining 63, and the Scottish National Party imploded in Scotland, losing 38 seats to end on just nine, with two constituencies still to declare.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK won four seats, including himself in Clacton at his eighth attempt to get into Parliament, with the Greens, and Plaid Cymru also both getting four seats each.
The speed and brutality of the British electoral system, which saw Labour gain a majority of some 176, was on full show as scores of parliamentary candidates were left dazed by shock losses as Mr Farage’s Reform UK inflicted heavy damage on the Tories.
Jeremy Hunt left 11 Downing Street for the final time as Chancellor mid-morning, having narrowly clung onto his Surrey seat.
Mr Sunak, who announced the election in the rain, made his final speech in Downing Street, ending 14 years of Conservative rule, on another wet day.
He told the nation “I have heard your anger” and confirmed that he would step down as Conservative leader — “not immediately, but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place”.
“I would like to say, first and foremost, I am sorry,” he said outside No10 before heading to Buckingham Palace.
“I have given this job my all,” Mr Sunak added. “But you have sent a clear signal, a signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change. And yours is the only judgment that matters.”
Earlier, speaking at Tate Modern, Sir Keir told jubilant Labour supporters “we did it” after Mr Sunak had conceded defeat in the election. The Labour leader delivered his victory speech at around 5am as he vowed to put “country first, party second”. As dawn was breaking, Sir Keir said the UK was waking up this morning 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: “Our task is nothing less than renewing the ideals that hold this country together.”
The huge Labour victory marked a spectacular turnaround since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an 80-seat Conservative majority and Labour suffered its worst result since 1935.
Earlier, Mr Sunak had phoned Sir Keir to concede the election. Speaking shortly after 4.40am after being re-elected MP for Richmond and Northallerton, in North Yorkshire, the Prime Minister had said: “The Labour Party has won this general election and I have called Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.”
He added: “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight.
There is much to learn and to reflect on and I take responsibility for the loss.”
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.”
The Tory list of election casualties was very long and high-profile figures included:
* Ms Truss who lost in South West Norfolk after her short administration and her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget.
* Mr Shapps lost to Labour in Welwyn Hatfield.
* Ms Mordaunt was beaten by Labour in Portsmouth North.
* Education Secretary Gillian Keegan lost to the Lib Dems in Chichester, as did Justice Secretary Alex Chalk in Cheltenham.
* Chief Whip Simon Hart lost to PlaidCymru in Caerfyrddin.
* Mr Hunt won in Godalming and Ash by fewer than 900 votes.
* Reform won four seats, with Mr Farage’s victory in Clacton, Richard Tice in Boston and Skegness, and Lee Anderson retaining Ashfield.
* George Galloway was defeated by Labour’s Paul Waugh in Rochdale.
* Jeremy Corbyn, standing as an independent, won in Islington North.
* Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith held on in Chingford and Woodford Green.
* Greens Party co-leader Carla Denyer won Bristol Central from Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire.
* Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth suffered a shock loss to an independent in Leicester South, where the Gaza war was a major issue during the election campaign.
* Tory party chairman Richard Holden won in Basildon and Billericay by just 20 votes after recounting.
Sir Keir was expected to appoint his whole Cabinet on Friday, Labour’s national campaign chief said.
Pat McFadden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Keir Starmer will get on with appointing his Cabinet, which we expect to be done by the end of today.
“Certainly the whole Cabinet. That Cabinet will meet tomorrow. And he will have to quickly allocate those responsibilities, give his new Cabinet their marching orders and then there’s big international events coming.
“We have a Nato summit next week. That will be his first moment on the international stage. And while he’s doing that, he will want his new Cabinet to get on with it pretty quickly.”
He said high on Sir Keir’s agenda will be the six first steps Labour has set out: delivering economic stability, cutting NHS waiting times, launching a new border security command, setting up Great British Energy, cracking down on anti-social behaviour, and recruiting 6,500 new teachers.
“Setting up new bodies is a faster thing than sometimes the recruitment of more police officers — that might take a little longer,” Mr McFadden added.
Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock described the party’s landslide as “the greatest comeback since Lazarus”.
World leaders raced to congratulate Sir Keir as the sought to build better ties after the Brexit bust-ups. French president Emmanuel Macron said he was “pleased with our first discussion”.
The pound stood firm and London’s blue chip share index nudged higher as markets remained in a “relaxed mood” after Labour’s dramatic, but expected, victory.
Mr Shapps was the first confirmed Cabinet casualty and he hit out at the Tory “soap opera” which had turned off voters. “It’s not so much that Labour won this election but rather that the Conservatives have lost it,” he said.
Ms Mordaunt said her party had taken a “battering because it failed to honour the trust that people had placed in it”.
Sir Ed Davey hailed the Lib Dems’ “exceptional” election result. He said they had put voters’ concerns “at the heart of our campaign”, adding that he had “rather enjoyed” the campaign during which he grabbed the limelight with a series of stunts. Mr Farage argued that the hugely increased vote share for Reform UK was “not a protest vote”.
