‘Change begins now’: Keir Starmer delivers victory speech as Rishi Sunak concedes defeat in UK election

Amid the counting of votes for the UK elections, PM Rishi Sunak conceded defeat and congratulated Keir Starmer for being the next prime minister.

Updated on: Jul 5, 2024, 10:55:21 IST

By HT News Desk

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United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceded defeat in the UK general election on Friday and said that he has congratulated Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on being the next prime minister of the country. This comes just as the Labour Party breaches the majority mark in the elections, winning 326 out of the total 650 seats in the general elections.

Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, delivers a victory speech (Bloomberg) (Bloomberg)

PM Rishi Sunak arrived at the counting centre at his Richmond seat on Friday morning and addressed the media as Labour continued to lead in over 300 seats. Sunak took “responsibility” for his party's defeat in the elections, and said that the results “delivered a sobering verdict” for the Tories.

Earlier, Sunak was trailing from the Richmond seat, but the final round of vote counting saw him win with a vast majority.

With more than half of all seats counted, Labour, led by Keir Starmer, has gained at least 326 seats, enough to have a majority in Parliament and form the next government. With this win, the party has dethroned the Conservatives after 14 years in power.

Keir Starmer is set to become the next prime minister of Britain by forming a majority government. While delivering a victory speech in London, Starmer said, “We did it. Change begins now.”

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Hope is “shining once again on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back,” the Labour leader added.

With Labour's historic victory in the UK elections, PM Rishi Sunak is expected to resign from his post soon. Sunak said that he will head to London in the coming hours, and promised that the transition to Labour will be orderly.

Sunak is expected to go to see King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Friday to officially resign. After that, Starmer is expected to be driven to the palace to get the king’s permission to form a government.

While the Labour Party established a majority with 326 seats, the governing Conservative won 44 seats till now. The left-of-centre Liberal Democrats have won 32 seats, while the hard-right, anti-immigration Reform UK has won 4 seats so far.

(With inputs from AP)

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