Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party conceded defeat in Friday's closely contested 2024 general election. The victory fell into the hands of the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister candidate Keir Starmer, who graciously received congratulations from the incumbent after the election loss.
The Labour Party's victory was sealed with a landslide victory in the parliamentary election held on Thursday, securing an impressive 410 seats as of the latest count- comfortably exceeding the majority mark of 326 seats required to form the government.
As the electoral staff meticulously tabulated millions of ballots at numerous counting centres nationwide, the Conservatives grappled with the fallout of a monumental defeat that has left their ranks in disarray. The outcome is expected to trigger a leadership contest within the party to succeed the now-outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The breakdown of seats won, as officially announced, is as follows:
- Conservative Party: 117 seats - Labour Party: 410 seats - Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP): 8 seats - Liberal Democrats: 70 seats - SF: 7 seats - Others: 26 seat
The exit poll projections suggest a seismic shift in the composition of the 650-seat House of Commons, with the Conservative Party anticipated to garner a humble 131 seats – marking their poorest electoral showing in two centuries. Meanwhile, the Labour Party is set to claim a commanding 410 seats, alongside notable gains for other parties such as the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, Plaid Cymru, and the Greens.
The Conservative Party suffered an early setback after losing their initial constituency in this general election.
Former justice minister Robert Buckland's defeat in Swindon South encapsulated the night's surprises, as his vote share plummeted by 25 per cent from the previous election in 2019. Labour's Heidi Alexander emerged victorious in the contest, marking her return to Parliament following her resignation in 2018 to join the office of the London mayor.