He said it was time to change course because for “too long now we have turned a blind eye” to people’s problems. It was inevitable voters had lost trust in successive governments who had abandoned them, he added.
“My government will fight, every day until you believe again,” Starmer said in a speech outside 10 Downing Street that had echoes of Tony Blair’s vow to act as the servants of the people in 1997. “From now on, you have a government unburdened by doctrine, guided only by a determination to serve your interests. To defy, quietly, those who have written our country off .”
In a dramatic landslide victory, Labour brought a crushing end to 14 years of Conservative-led rule, with the party that ushered in Brexit and delivered chaotic and at times dishonest government enduring its worst-ever electoral performance. The Conservatives lost dozens of constituencies they had won for the first time in 2019 under Boris Johnson. Liz Truss was among the big names ousted.
Starmer’s party won 412 seats to the Tories’ 121, while the Liberal Democrats were on a record 71, the Scottish National party fell to 10, Reform UK were on fi ve and the Greens had four. By last night there was just one seat left to declare.
However, an election campaign marked by voter apathy and more general disillusionment with the political system was reflected in the turnout, estimated at about 60%, the lowest since 2001 and down from 67% at the last general election.
In a sign of the significant work Labour must do to fulfil Starmer's pledge to unite the country, the party lost four seats to pro-Gaza independent candidates and was run close by several others. The threat posed by Reform will also be felt keenly by both Labour and the Conservatives. The hard-right party won 14% of the vote - more than 4m votes in total - and came second in more than 100 seats.
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