After the Conservative party suffered a dramatic collapse on election day, losing nearly 250 seats in the Commons, 14 year of Tory rule have ended in the UK. The Tories only managed 121 seats, their worst ever showing.
326 seats are needed to form a majority government in the House of Commons.
Labor won 412 seats out of the 650 in the House of Commons, a massive increase from the 202 the party managed in 2019.
Keir Starmer arrived at Downing Street around noon on July 5 after the ceremonial ‘kissing of hands’ with King Charles III, and thereafter delivered his first address as Prime Minister.
In his speech, Starmer acknowledged that “a mandate like this comes with a great responsibility. Our task is nothing less than renewing the ideas that hold this country together. National renewal. Whoever you are, wherever you started in life, if you work hard, if you play by the rules, this country should give you a fair chance to get on.”
He added “we have to return politics to public service. Show that politics can be a service for good. Make no mistake, that is the great test of politics in this era. The fight for trust is the battle that defines our age.”
Former Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was the UK’s shortest-serving prime minister, lost her seat in the election. 10 Tory cabinet ministers also lost their seats, including defence minister Grant Shapps, Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the lower house of parliament, education minister Gillian Keegan, culture minister Lucy Frazer, science minister Michelle Donelan and justice minister Alex Chalk.