It’s the 5th of July, and the election is over. The final few seats are now being counted, but the picture is clear: Labour has won an expected landslide majority, winning (as of the current tally) 412 seats for a majority of 174. The Conservatives have been effectively wiped out (electorally speaking), with the Party suffering its worst defeat in its long history.
Some of the key moments of the night included:
- Despite their victory in terms of seats, the Labour Party will be concerned at the astonishingly low percentage share of the vote that it received, sitting at the latest count at around 34% – far less than what Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour received in 2017, and only 2% higher than 2019.
- The Labour Party lost a huge number of votes due to their stance on Gaza, with a number of notable senior Labour MPs being only narrowly re-elected, with Wes Streeting winning by just 528 votes. Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Paymaster General, lost his seat to an Independent candidate, one of Labour’s five losses to independents at the election, one of which was to Jeremy Corbyn in Islington North, who was elected with a sizeable majority of 7,247.
- The Conservative Party had its worst election results night in its history, losing a large number of Cabinet ministers including the Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Transport Secretary Mark Harper and Leader of the House of Commons and potential leadership contender Penny Mordaunt.
- Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister, lost her seat, the first time a former Prime Minister had lost their seat in more than 100 years, whilst Maidenhead, Theresa May’s old constituency, also fell. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip was also lost, with Labour winning it by just 587 votes.
- The Conservative Party was completely wiped out in Wales. They won 14 seats in Wales at the 2019 General Election. They just about survived being an England only Party, managing to win four seats in Scotland.
- Alongside the Conservatives the SNP also faced a crushing defeat, losing 38 seats and leaving them with just 9 MPs.
- The Liberal Democrats achieved a result beyond their wildest expectations, managing to win 71 seats, the largest seat tally in its history.
- At the 8th time of trying, Nigel Farage is now a Member of Parliament, having won Clacton handily. He is joined by three other Reform UK MPs, including Lee Anderson, who successfully defended his seat after defecting to Reform UK earlier this year. Reform UK came second in a vast number of constituencies, and whilst this has caused heavy Tory losses, a sizeable swing has also been seen coming from Labour to Reform, suggesting success in Farage’s anti-immigration approach.
- The other big winners were the Greens, who managed to win all four of their target seats, with both Co-Leaders Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer winning seats, the latter unseating Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire in the process.
- In Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein became the largest Party in terms of number of MPs, whilst the UUP won back a seat off the DUP. Traditional Unionist Voice, which affiliates with Reform UK, won a seat in Parliament for the first time.
There are many, many more stories that have taken place throughout the night. But now the formal transition of power must begin, with the outgoing Prime Minister set to address the nation outside Downing Street. He will then travel to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the King, where he will resign as Prime Minister. Sir Keir Starmer will then be summoned to the Palace, where he will be invited to form a Government. After addressing the nation, the work will no doubt begin in earnest, with Starmer due to elect his Cabinet by the end of the day. He’ll have some spaces to fill, most notably the role of Culture Secretary, so no doubt some surprises are in store.
Expect junior Ministers to be appointed over the weekend.