Keir Starmer heads to Downing Street with Labour winning a huge landslide in UK General Election as the party also sweeps the board for the first time across Liverpool city region. Tony McDonough reports
Britain will have its first Labour Prime Minister for 14 years with Keir Starmer now certain to lead his party to a huge landslide in the General Election.
Throughout the election campaign the polls indicated a big win for Labour over the Conservatives and the exit poll, published at 10pm on Thursday evening, confirmed the news that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had been dreading.
It predicted Labour winning 410 seats – 241 higher than in 2019. It put the Conservatives on 131 seats, 241 down on 2019. The poll put the Lib Dems on 61 seats, Nigel Farage’s Reform on 13 and the Scottish National Party seeing a collapse to just 10 seats.
Results are still coming in but Mr Sunak conceded the election shortly after 4.40am this morning and Mr Starmer is now heading to Downing Street with Angela Rayner set to be deputy PM and Rachel Reeves the Chancellor.
After winning his own seat in Holborn & St Pancras, Mr Starmer said: “People here and around the country have spoken and they’re ready for change, to the politics of performance, a return to politics as public service.
“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.”
There was a clean sweep for Labour across Liverpool city region. Big result of the night was the Labour gain from the Conservatives in Southport. Labour’s Patrick Hurley is the town’s new MP, beating Tory candidate Damien Moore who was elected in 2019.
Dan Carden (Walton), Paula Barker (Wavertree), Kim Johnson (Riverside), Ian Byrne (West Derby) and Maria Eagle (Garston) have all won their Liverpool seats easily, as expected.
In Wirral, Matt Patrick won for Labour in Wirral West along with Alison McGovern (Birkenhead) and Angela Eagle in Wallasey. Labour’s Anneliese Midgley won in Knowsley as did Marie Rimmer (St Helens South and Whiston) and David Baines (St Helens North).
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There was no surprises in Bootle and Sefton Central where Labour candidates Peter Dowd and Bill Esterson both kept their seats.
Labour’s Mike Amesbury prevailed in Runcorn and Helsby while the party’s Derek Twigg was the winner in Widnes and Halewood.