‘We’re not all Labour but everyone was jubilant’: UK voters on the election result

Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, arrive in Downing Street and greet supporters in London. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

After 14 years of Conservative rule, the UK woke on Friday to news of a landslide election victory for Labour. Keir Starmer is now the prime minister after a historic defeat for Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats made huge gains, taking more than 70 seats, the SNP is on nine, while the Greens, Plaid Cymru and Reform UK each have four seats so far.

The first-past-the-post system meant that despite Nigel Farage’s party winning more votes than the Lib Dems, it secured a fraction of the seats. Labour failed to substantially increase its share of the vote compared with 2019, while the Conservatives’ portion plummeted by about 20 points.