Rishi Sunak with his wife Akshata Murty and Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria Starmer
On Friday, Keir Starmer promised a phase of national renewal as Prime Minister-elect of Britain, following a significant Labour Party win in a historic UK general election. The Conservative Party, led by outgoing PM Rishi Sunak, suffered its biggest election loss in history with a loss of over 200 seats.
Starmer, aged 61, is now in a position to become the leader at 10 Downing Street after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, following Sunak’s meeting with the British monarch.
While Labour reached over half of the 650 constituencies on Friday morning to secure at least 326 seats for a majority in Parliament, Starmer delivered his winning speech in London: “Change begins now. And it feels good, I have to be honest”.
“A mandate like this comes with a great responsibility. Our task is nothing less than renewing the ideas that hold this country together. National renewal. Whoever you are, wherever you start in life, if you work hard, if you play by the rules, this country should give you a fair chance to get on. It should always respect your contribution and we have to restore that”, Starmer continued.
In the meantime, the country’s first British Indian prime minister secured his seat in Richmond and Northallerton seat in northern England with 23,059 votes but was unable to reverse his party fortunes at a national level despite 14 years in power. His Conservative Party faced its most devastating election loss ever, as they lost 250 MPs in Thursday’s general election.
Sunak was joined by his wife Akshata Murty as his future as a Parliamentarian was determined, and opted to acknowledge his party’s defeat in securing another term in office during his acceptance speech.
Sunak admitted his party’s defeat in the general election, expressing his congratulations to Keir Starmer and accepting responsibility for the outcome.
“The Labour Party has won this general election and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory”, Sunak noted, conceding the sobering verdict handed to his party and accepting responsibility for the loss.
Sunak promised to keep working for his voters in the upcoming weeks, months and years ahead and highlighted that the change of leadership in Westminster will take place in a calm and and orderly manner with goodwill on all sides.
During his farewell speech, the 44-year-old expressed strong feelings as he apologised to the voters who had given his party a significant defeat in the election. However, he emphasized that he had put in his best effort for the job and expressed regret to his Conservative colleagues who were defeated in the elections.
Sunak announced that he would step down from his position as the leader of the Conservative Party, citing responsibility for the party’s failure in the general election.
Earlier, Keir Starmer garnered 18,884 votes and was surrounded by cheering supporters as they predicted he would become the Prime Minister after winning his seat in Holborn and St. Pancras, London.
“The change begins right here. Because this is your democracy, your community and your future. You have voted. It is now time for us to deliver”, Starmer stated in his acceptance speech.
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