Keir Starmer will become British Prime Minister today, following a landslide victory for the Labour Party.

After 14 years of Conservative rule, Britons swung sharply to the left - with huge swings against the Tories in seats across the kingdom. 

Counting is still ongoing in certain parts of the country but Labour is forecast to have a majority of well over 100 in the House of Commons. 

Mr Starmer becomes only the fifth Labour leader in British history to lead the party from opposition to Government. 

Speaking at a rally for Labour supporters in central London, Mr Starmer promised that “change starts now”. 

"The sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through the day,” he said. 

“Shining once again on a country with an opportunity after 14 years to get its future back."

Thank you, Holborn and St Pancras, for putting your trust in me again.

Change begins right here. pic.twitter.com/XZfi5OIoyH

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 5, 2024

Rishi Sunak’s Tory Party will lose hundreds of seats, with senior Cabinet Ministers such as Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt sacked by their constituents. 

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and former Prime Minister Liz Truss are expected to be among the final casualties. 

Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson candidly described the results as a “massacre” for the party. 

Towards the end of the campaign there was even speculation Mr Sunak’s own seat in North Yorkshire could be a Labour gain. 

In the end, Mr Sunak clung on with a comfortable majority of over 12,000 but admitted it had been a “difficult night” for his party. 

“Today power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner with good will on all sides,” he said. 

“That is something that should give us all confidence in our country’s stability."

To the hundreds of Conservative candidates, thousands of volunteers and millions of voters:

Thank you for your hard work, thank you for your support, and thank you for your vote. pic.twitter.com/GcgvI7bImI

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 4, 2024

It was also a good night for the Liberal Democrats with the party once again the third largest party in British politics. 

With the Tory vote in freefall, Ed Davey’s party gained dozens of seats - many in the prosperous parts of the south of England. 

Henley in Oxfordshire, which was once represented by the likes Boris Johnson and Michael Heseltine, flipped from Tory blue to Lib Dem yellow with a majority of over 6,000. 

Nigel Farage MP

Another party with cause to rejoice was Reform UK. 

At the beginning of the campaign, Nigel Farage said he was going to sit out the election and continue working as a GB News presenter. 

In the end, the allure of the political arena proved too great; Mr Farage appointed himself Reform party leader and stood in the Essex seat of Clacton. 

The party has piled up the votes in areas that voted strongly for Brexit in 2016 and won a handful of seats. 

Thank you, Clacton. This is just the beginning.

— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 5, 2024

The results have made for uncomfortable viewing for supporters of the Scottish National Party. 

The pro-independence party has won every single election in Scotland since 2012 - until yesterday. 

After a decade in the political wilderness, Labour has emerged as the largest party  in Scotland and the party has been completely wiped out in the urban central belt.

The party's poll ratings plumetted following the arrest of its former leader, Nicola Sturgeon, as part of a police probe into the SNP's finances.

Ms Sturgeon has denied wrongdoing but her husband, who served as SNP CEO, has since been charged with embezzlement.

On ITV last night, Ms Sturgeon described the results as "grim".

North of the border

In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin has had a good night, comfortably holding the two marginal seats of Belfast North and Fermanagh and South Tryone.

The DUP lost South Antrim to the UUP, Lagan Valley to the Alliance and North Antrim to the TUV.

However, party leader Gavin Robinson held off a strong challenge from the Alliance's Naomi Long to win East Belfast.

In North Down, Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry has lost his seat to independent unionist candidate Alex Easton.

The SDLP has held Foyle and the new constituency of Belfast South and Mid Down.

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Main image: Keir Starmer during a visit to Hitchin, Hertfordshire, while on the General Election campaign trail. Picture by: Alamy.com