Vote counting began in Britain’s general election on Friday, with exit polls predicting a historic defeat for the Democrats, but Keir Starmer’s opposition Labour Party making early gains. Chancellor Rishi SunakThe ruling Conservative Party.
Opinion polls showed Labour would win 410 seats in the 650-seat parliament. The Conservative Party, which has been in power for 14 years through turmoil and a stagnant economy, was predicted to win just 131 seats, its worst election result in history.
Labour won 67 seats, close to a majority of 326, while the Conservatives came a distant second with just eight seats. The Liberal Democrats secured three seats. Right-wing reformist UKThe party of Brexit supporter Nigel Farage won one constituency.
UK Election Results: Latest Developments
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Keir Starmer is set to become the next Prime Minister, with his Labour Party expected to secure 410 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, giving it a commanding majority of 170, according to exit polls.
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The Conservative Party is predicted to win just 131 seats, a significant drop from the 365 it won in the 2019 election. Senior Conservative leaders, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Veterans Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer, are expected to lose their seats.
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Even worse news for Rishi Sunak is that he could lose his seat. Polls suggest his 27,000-vote majority in Richmond-Northallerton could be overturned, making him the first sitting First Minister to lose his seat in a general election.
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Ed Davey’s Liberal Democrats are predicted to win 61 seats, a significant increase on their performance in 2019. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party is predicted to win 13 seats.
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Labour’s success has been attributed to widespread dissatisfaction with the Conservative government’s economic policies and internal infighting. The party faced a further challenge from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, who siphoned off Conservative votes with his anti-immigration rhetoric.
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Keir Starmer won his seat in North London but with a significantly lower number of votes, according to the Associated Press. After his victory, the Labour leader said, “voters have spoken and they are ready for change.”
“It all starts with you. Change starts in this community,” he said. “You voted, now it’s time for us to deliver results.”
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Nigel Farage became an MP on his eighth try, winning his seat in the pro-Brexit town of Clacton. He played a leading role in delivering Britain’s departure from the EU and also won supporters for his anti-immigration policies.
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In the Conservatives’ highest-profile defeat so far, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps lost his seat to Labour’s Andrew Lewin, while MP Penny Mordaunt also lost her Portsmouth North constituency to a Labour rival, the BBC reported, citing sources.
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Former justice secretary Robert Buckland, who became the first Conservative member to lose his seat as election results trickled in, slammed his party for “performance art politics” and a lack of discipline under leader Rishi Sunak.
Another senior Conservative, Andrea Leadsom, said the party was no longer “conservative enough” and criticised its approach to “woke” issues.
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Senior Labour politicians, including shadow health secretary Wes Streeting and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, praised Mr Starmer for leading the party to the “height of power”.
Labour’s shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, gave the first victory speech of the night, declaring that the British people had “elected Keir Starmer’s leadership”.
