Rishi Sunak has taken responsibility for the Conservative Party's catastrophic general election defeat. Labour, under Sir Keir Starmer, secured a landslide victory,

positioning Starmer as the next UK prime minister.

"The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn... and I take responsibility for the loss," Sunak told supporters.

In central London, Sir Keir declared "change begins now" and expressed his satisfaction with the victory. Labour is projected to form the next government with a majority of 170 seats, while the Tories face their worst result in history, losing over 248 seats and retaining only 119.

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss lost her South West Norfolk seat to Labour by 630 votes, overturning her significant majority. Other senior Tories, including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, and former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, also lost their seats.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly acknowledged that many former Conservative voters had switched to Reform UK, which now has four MPs, including leader Nigel Farage, who won a seat in Clacton.

In his victory speech, Starmer told Labour supporters that the country was waking up to "the sunlight of hope" and looked forward to a new era after 14 years of Conservative rule.

The Liberal Democrats surged to a record 70 MPs, benefiting from the Tory collapse. Leader Sir Ed Davey called it a "record-breaking night" and pledged to focus on the NHS and care.

The Green Party now has four MPs, while the SNP was reduced to just eight. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn retained his Islington North seat as an independent, but George Galloway lost in Rochdale.

Though Starmer's landslide is just short of Tony Blair's 179 majority in 1997, it marks the first Labour prime minister in Downing Street since 2010. Sunak is expected to step down as Conservative leader, leading to a battle for the party's future direction.

Penny Mordaunt, who narrowly lost her seat, hinted at another bid for Tory leadership, while Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris stressed the need for the Conservatives to "regroup and reconnect."

Former attorney general Sir Robert Buckland warned of "electoral Armageddon" and criticized colleagues for their "spectacularly unprofessional and ill-disciplined" behavior during the campaign.

SNP's First Minister John Swinney acknowledged the party's poor performance and emphasized the need to reassess their approach to Scottish independence, despite significant public support. Photo by Number 10, Wikimedia commons.