Labour Party emerges victorious: Key highlights of the UK election results

In the historic UK elections, the Labour Party has won nearly 410 seats out of the 641 seats — an increase of 210 — earning a 33.9% share of the vote, while the Western world’s most successful party, the Conservatives, won about 119 constituencies, the lowest in the party’s history. 

The Conservatives lost 250 constituencies, which included a record number of senior ministers and former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have emerged victorious in 71 constituencies while Reform UK has secured wins in four seats.

Here are the key highlights of the UK elections

Ex-PM Liz Truss loses Conservatives’ bastion South West Norfolk

In the landslide win for the Labour Party, the biggest setback to the Conservatives was former Prime Minister Liz Truss losing from the party bastion South West Norfolk — a seat she held for 14 years.

Speaking after her defeat, Truss said her party had not “delivered sufficiently” in areas such as “keeping taxes low” and reducing immigration. 

Eight-time is a charm, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wins

Nigel Farage, the face of Euroscepticism in the UK, won in Westminster marking a significant win for the Reform UK party. Farage defeated, his previous party, the Conservatives’ candidate Giles Watling, who has represented the coastal constituency in Essex for the past 7 years. Farage garnered 21,225 votes, 8,405 winning votes to Watling’s 12,820. 

Farage began his political career in 1992 when he separated from the Conservative Party after the UK signed the Maastricht Treaty. He played a pivotal role in the 2016 Brexit referendum and, following the vote in favour of leaving the European Union, resigned from UKIP where he was a founding member, but decided to rejoin as the party leader this year. 

Keir Starmer will meet King Charles

Rishi Sunak will formally resign from the Prime Minister post after meeting King Charles. Upon the resignation, Starmer will meet King Charles at Buckingham Palace before giving a speech in Downing Street. The King will formally invite the newly-elected leader to form the government which will be followed by the traditional ceremony of ‘Kissing of hands’ where Starmer will bow and accept the post.

Addressing the supporters in central London the new PM-elect said, “Four-and-a-half years of work changing this party… this is what it is for. A changed Labour… ready to restore Britain to the service of the working people.”

He thanked the crowd exclaiming, “We did it. Thank you truly… you have changed our country,”

Highest Sikh community representation in the parliament

The UK parliament will witness the highest representation of the Sikh community in history as 10 newly-elected MPs from the Labour Party, five men and five women, are set to take oaths. While Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Preet Kaur Gill are being elected for the third time, 8 MPs will take oath for the first time. 

Taking to X, Dhesi wrote, “Huge honour to be re-elected by the good people of #Slough as their MP. They voted for change, unity and progress under a @UKLabour Government – which is what I will work hard to deliver for them. Immensely grateful to all whose efforts and teamwork made it possible”.

Kirith Entwistle alias Kirith Ahluwalia from Bolton North East, Sonia Kumar from Dudley and Harpreet Kaur Uppal from Huddersfield parliamentary seat will be entering the parliament for the first time. Entwistle and Kumar were first woman to win the respective parliamentary seat.

Satvir Kaur from Southampton Test, Warinder Juss from Wolverhampton West, Dr Jeevun Sandher and Jas Athwal from Loughborough and Ilford South respectively, and Gurinder Singh Josan won Smethwick to become first-time MPs.

Sinn Fein emerges as largest party in Northern Ireland

For the first time, Sinn Fein became Northern Ireland’s largest party in the British parliament, capitalizing on a poor election for its main unionist rival, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

This marked Sinn Fein’s continued success after becoming the first nationalist party to win the most seats at the regional assembly in 2022 and at local council polls in 2023. He retained its seven seats from the last election, while the DUP dropped from eight to four seats.

Rishi Sunak takes responsibility 

Rishi Sunak said he would meet King Charles to formally resign as prime minister and would also stand down as leader of the defeated Conservative Party after Keir Starmer’s Labour Party won a landslide election victory. 

The outgoing PM said, “I have heard your anger, your disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss. To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly, but without success, I’m sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved.” 

He added, “I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgment that matters,”