Featured Image Credit: Max Mumby/Getty Dan Kitwood/Getty
Topics: Politics, UK News, Keir Starmer
Joe Harker
Topics: Politics, UK News, Keir Starmer
Labour has won the general election, with Sir Keir Starmer set to become the new prime minister.
The Labour party were the clear and obvious frontrunners to win the election and it turns out that 2024 was not the year for an upset.
With all the seats yet to be called, it's clear Labour has already been victorious, demolishing the Conservative party's majority.
Speaking after the result, the country's new leader, Starmer, said 'we did it' and claimed that this morning the country was waking to a 'sunlight of hope'.
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He told supporters: "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.”
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Elsewhere, Rishi Sunak wasn't so happy.
In a statement to the Conservative party, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer apologised for the devastating defeat.
"The Labour Party has won this General Election, and I’ve called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory," he said. "Today, power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner, with goodwill on all sides. That is something that should give us all confidence in our country’s stability and future.
“The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn… and I take responsibility for the loss.
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"To the many good, hard-working Conservative candidates who lost tonight, despite their tireless efforts, their local records and delivery, and their dedication to their communities. I am sorry.”
But the victory isn't wholly surprising given that Labour have been miles ahead of the Conservatives in the polls for quite some time.
Now that Starmer has won the election and become prime minister, you might be wondering what exactly happens next.
The first thing to do is head to Buckingham Palace for an audience with King Charles III, who will invite Starmer to form a government.
Most new prime ministers then like to head for 10 Downing Street to make a speech outside the famous door before ushering their families inside what will be their new home.
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What follows are plenty of meetings with civil servants in number 10 and briefings on the things that most immediately require the new PM's attention, such as matters of national security.
Speaking of which, Starmer will also have to write his letters to the commanders of the submarines which hold the UK's arsenal of nuclear weapons, telling them what he wants them to do if Britain is destroyed by a nuclear attack.
If they're never needed, then they'll be destroyed without ever being opened once Starmer leaves office.
Ministers that make up his new government will also visit him in Downing Street and the phone will be ringing off the hook as world leaders call up to congratulate the new prime minister.