Sir Keir Starmer will be the UK’s next prime minister after Rishi Sunak admitted defeat in the face of a Labour landslide.
Several high-profile Conservatives lost their seats, including former Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Sunak said voters had delivered a “sobering verdict” on his party after 14 years in power.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said people around the country had declared they were “ready for change”.
The Labour leader said: “We did it. You campaigned for it, you fought for it, you voted for it, and now it has arrived: change begins now.
“It feels good, I have to be honest. Four and a half years of work changing the party, this is is what it is for: a changed Labour Party ready to serve our country, ready to restore Britain to the service of working people.
“And across our country, people will be waking up to the news, relief that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation.
“And now we can look forward, walk into the morning, the sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through the day, shining once again, on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back.”
He added: “But a mandate like this comes with a great responsibility. Our task is nothing less than renewing 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.”
Sir Keir added in his victory speech: “Alongside that, we have to return politics to public service, show that politics can be a force for good. Make no mistake, that is the great test of politics in this era – the fight for trust is the battle that defines our age.
“It is why we campaigned so hard on demonstrating we’re fit for public service. Service is the precondition for hope. Respect a bond that can unite a country. Together, the values of this changed Labour Party are the guiding principle for a new government – country first, party second.”
Tory leader Mr Sunak, in his acceptance speech after retaining his seat, said: “The Labour Party has won this General Election and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.”
With 600 constituency results declared, Labour has won 395 seats with a 34.6% share of the vote.
The Conservatives have 103 seats and a 23.2% vote share.
The Liberal Democrats have won in 63 constituencies with 11.8% of the overall vote, while Reform UK has 14.4% of the vote, translating to success in four seats.
The SNP has seven seats, Plaid Cymru is on four, the DUP has four and Sinn Fein has seven.
The Green Party has 6.9% of the votes and four seats.
Highlights of the results so far are:
- Eight UK cabinet ministers have so far lost their seats including Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary; and Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary. Commons leader Penny Mordaunt has been beaten by Labour. Others big-name losses are expected.
- The Alliance Party’s Sorcha Eastwood has defeated the DUP in Lagan Valley, the seat formerly held by ex-DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.
- Jacob Rees Mogg has lost his seat to Labour.
- Reports suggest former Conservative Party leader and UK Prime Minister Liz Truss may lose her seat.
- Nigel Farage has won the seat of Clacton, on his eighth attempt to become an MP.
- Jeremy Corbyn has won his seat of Islington North as an independent.
- George Galloway has lost his Rochdale seat to Labour.
The result will mean a Labour prime minister in No 10 for the first time in 2010 and the Conservatives facing a possible civil war as the fight for the future direction of the party and the battle to potentially replace Mr Sunak gets under way.
Labour’s national campaign chief Pat McFadden said: “Keir Starmer’s transformation of the Labour Party has been remarkable.
“He has put country before party and has transformed Labour from a party focused on itself to one back in the service of the British public. We have campaigned as a changed Labour Party, ready to change Britain.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris has sent his congratulations to Keir Starmer.
The Taoiseach said: “Keir Starmer has brought the Labour Party a comprehensive victory. I congratulate him and his candidates and I look forward to working together as close neighbours and friends.
“The relationship between Ireland and the UK is deeply consequential for all people across these islands. Keir Starmer and I share a desire for it to go from strength to strength in the years ahead.
“I look forward to early engagement with the incoming Prime Minister, and to a mutually beneficial and productive relationship between us."
