The Labour leader, with wife Victoria, received a rapturous welcome after returning from the Palace where he had an audience with the King around noon, shortly after Rishi Sunak exited having tendered his resignation.
Follow all the turbulent twists and turns of an historic general election night onSir Keir Starmer stepped through the door of 10 Downing Street this afternoon for the first time as Prime Minister as he vowed to 'immediately' begin work to 'rebuild Britain' and prepared to make key Cabinet appointments.
He and Victoria received a rapturous welcome after returning from the Palace where he had an audience with His Majesty around noon, shortly after Rishi Sunak exited having tendered his resignation. The Lib Dems also inflicted massive pain on the Conservatives, racking up a record 71 seats as Reform leeched millions of votes and came second in around a hundred constituencies - but only scored four MPs of their own.
Some newly-elected Labour MPs suggested the public will be thinking about overhauling Britain's voting system in the wake of the party's triumph, while Corbyn's allies swiped that Sir Keir had won 'by default' due to the dramatic collapse in Conservative support. Sealing his triumph with a kiss from Victoria, he said the British people had 'voted to turn the page' on 14 years of Conservative rule - and delivered a riposte to his critics saying there was 'nothing inevitable' about the outcome.
In his parting shot, Mr Shapps said the Conservatives had 'lost' the election rather than Labour winning it - and 'tried the patience' of the public by being divided.Sir Keir Starmer, the newly-elected PM, and his wife Victoria were clapped in by staff as they entered No10 Sir Keir acknowledged 'weariness at the heart of the nation' today after his so-called 'loveless landslide' in the election
Keir Starmer, with wife Victoria, was driven up to the Palace for his audience with the King shortly after Rishi Sunak exited, having tendered his resignation On the steps of Downing Street, Sir Keir said Britain had 'voted decisively for change, for national renewal and a return of politics to public service'.
He said: 'Changing a country is not like flicking a switch. The world is now a more volatile place. This will take a while. The Labour leader said: 'If I asked you now whether you believe that Britain will be better for your children, I know too many of you would say no. Staff and supporters looked on as Sir Keir made his promises to the country outside the Downing Street doorThe Starmers embraced as they prepared to enter No10 for the first time this afternoon
In his valedictory speech, Mr Sunak said: 'I have given this job my all. But you have sent a clear message, and yours is the only judgement that matters. Polling expert Sir John Curtice noted how Labour's vote share was expected to be up by just under two percentage points across the country from 2019.
Rishi Sunak has flown back to London from Yorkshire, where he conceded that Keir Starmer has won and issued a grovelling apology in a shell-shocked speech A broken PM acknowledged that Sir Keir had won as he nervously took a victory in his own incredibly safe Richmond & Northallerton seat 'The public will be talking about proportional representation and whether we need to have a debate about it. I've always said that we do need to have a debate about it.'
'The reality of course is Keir Starmer was holding the pass the parcel at the right time, when the Tories eventually imploded. So they've won by default, on a lower share of the vote than 2017.' There are now no Tory MPs in Wales after Craig Williams, a former Tory aide to Mr Sunak, came third in Mongomeryshire as an independent after being embroiled in a gambling row over the date of the election.
'And now we can look forward, walk into the morning, 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.' Mr Shapps was the first confirmed Cabinet casualty and he hit out at the Tory 'soap opera' which had turned off voters.
In a dramatic night former prime minister Liz Truss lost her Norfolk South West seat to Labour in King's Lynn, NorfolkJonathan Gullis was evicted from Stoke on Trent North as the drama continued todayFormer Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg also left Parliament in the Tory bloodbath overnightJeremy Hunt is having to leave Downing Street after being kicked out of government - but holding his...
'You, the great British people, voted for us over 14 years and we did not keep our promises,' she said.'We need to listen to you, you have spoken to us very clearly.' A former Cabinet minister - who regarded their own significant majority as under threat - said Mr Sunak had 'knifed' Boris Johnson and would be remembered as the 'worst PM ever'.
'However, how many seats Reform will win is highly uncertain – our model suggests there are many places where they have some - but a relatively low - chance of winning.' 'But to watch the TV coverage it's almost comical. There's not a single representative on there from Reform UK, mainstream media are in denial just as much as our political parties.A Conservative spokesman said they had to wait for the full outcome, but added: 'If these results are correct it is clear that Starmer and Angela Rayner will be in Downing Street tomorrow.'
Former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock said the exit poll's landslide prediction was 'the greatest comeback since Lazarus'. Mr Sunak took a huge political gamble and shocked Westminster by triggering the election on May 22, rather than waiting until the Autumn as had been widely expected.Penny Mordaunt was among the Cabinet ministers washed away in the red wave
In a big moment, Mr Farage responded by ruling out standing as a Reform candidate, admitting he did not have time to put together a campaign. A subsequent grovelling apology did not prevent Mr Farage and opponents seizing on the blunder, which struck right at the heart of the Tory goal of shoring up the core vote among older generations.
Mr Sunak was memorably challenged on the issue during TV appearances, admitting he was 'incredibly angry'. But he was seen as taking far too long to withdraw support for candidates facing allegations. By yesterday, despite Mr Sunak's claim he was 'fighting hard for every vote', his close ally Mel Stride was effectively acknowledging the Conservatives would lose - an unprecedented step.
'That means we could have a MUCH better chance than polls have suggested. So if you haven't voted yet, now's the time to get out.'
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