Labour beats Conservatives in landslide victory

With most of the general election results declared, Labour are set to win a landslide victory.

At the time of writing, with five seats left to declare, Labour have won 412 seats, a gain of 214 seats, with the Conservatives dropping to 121, with a loss of 252.

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss has lost her seat, along with Penny Mordaunt and Jacob Rees-Mogg. 

Truss lost her seat to Labour by 630 votes, having previously held a majority of more than 30,000 and Mordaunt lost by 780 votes.

Also gone are defence secretary Grant Shapps and justice secretary Alex Chalk.

Suella Braverman and Priti Patel have held on to their seats, as have Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Jeremy Hunt. Robert Jenrick and Steve Barclay have held on, while Gillian Keegan and Mark Harper are gone.

Some high profile Tories like Michael Gove, Sajid Javid, Nadhim Zahawi, Theresa May, Dominic Raab and Chris Grayling did not contest their seats.

Rishi Sunak won his seat, but will no longer be prime minister. In his farewell speech outside Number 10, he said: "To the country I would like to say first and foremost I am sorry."

"I have given this job my all but you have sent a clear message that the government of the UK must change, and yours is the judgement that matters.

"I have heard your anger, your disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss."

He will now step down as Conservative leader, with a leadership contest expected in due course.

The Lib Dems have gained 64 seats bringing their total to 72, and winning the seats of former prime ministers Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Theresa May.

Party leader, Sir Ed Davey said: "I am humbled by the millions of people who backed the Liberal Democrats to both kick the Conservatives out of power and deliver the change our country needs."

While polling third in terms of number of votes across the country, Reform UK have only won five seats. Nigel Farage has become an MP for the first, on his eighth attempt. Former Conservative Lee Anderson (30p Lee) has also become a Reform MP.

Farage said the result was "the first step of something that is going to stun all of you".

Green co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay have both been elected. In Bristol, Denyer defeated Labour's shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire by a majority of 10,000 and in Waveney Valley, Ramsay overturned a 22,000 Conservative majority with a swing of 32.1 per cent.

Sian Berry won Caroline Lucas's old seat of Brighton Pavilion for the Greens. Ellie Chowns defeated the Conservatives' Bill Wiggin in North Herefordshire, who had previously held the seat with a 25,000 majority. The party has a total of four seats, the same as Plaid Cymru.

Denyer said that the result was evidence that "if you want Green, you can vote Green and you will get a Green MP".

Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected as an independent in Islington North, defeating his Labour opponent and winning the seat for the 11th time - making him London's longest serving MP.

George Galloway lost the Rochdale seat he won in February to Labour.

In Scotland, the SNP have lost 38 seats, mostly to the benefit of Labour - their worst result since 2010, having won only nine seats. The Scottish Conservatives won five seats, losing one since 2019. In Glasgow, Labour won all six seats from the SNP.

First minister John Swinney called the result "very, very difficult and damaging".

In Wales, the Conservatives now have no MPs, with Welsh secretary David TC Davies and his predecessors Alun Cairns, Stephen Crabb and Simon Hart all missing out. Labour won 27 seats in Wales (an increase of nine), Plaid Cymru four and the Lib Dems one.

Shadow Welsh secretary Jo Stevens said: "Having two Labour governments, one at each end of the M4, working in an atmosphere of trust and respect and collaboration rather than constant frictions means that we will deliver better outcomes for Wales."

In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin is now the largest party across councils, assembly and Westminster. The party won seven contests, but its candidates will not take their seats. Former Royal College of Nursing leader Pat Cullen won for Sinn Féin in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. The party's main opponent, the DUP won five seats, down from eight at the last election. Ian Paisley was a high-profile casualty.

Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald said: “From day one, we will be knocking on the door of the British government to demand that they stop their disgraceful underfunding of our public services and of the executive here."

Responding to the results, newly elected leader of the LGA Cllr Louise Gittins said: “I am excited and honoured to be taking up this important cross-party role on behalf of councils of all types and political colours across the country.

“We are entering a period of huge change but also opportunity and my immediate priority is working with the new government on a fundamental reset of the relationship between central and local government, one of trust and mutual respect.  

“As we have set out in our Local Government White Paper, it is councils which hold the local levers to the national challenges facing the new government, whether it is building more affordable homes, reducing homelessness, improving care for adults and children or boosting inclusive growth.  

“Councils are under pressure like never before, facing a funding gap of more than £6 billion over the next two years. It is important we find a sustainable and long-term financial solution, alongside the right powers and levers, so we can deliver on the priorities of the new government.

“We are delighted that many new MPs come from the local government family and have had first-hand experience of these acute pressures as councillors, which should mean that securing the future of our local services will be a top priority.”