Keir Starmer on Friday said Britain was "ready for change", as his main opposition Labour party looked set to sweep to power in a landslide election win, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. The Labour leader won re-election in his north London constituency with ease, while around the country Labour snatched a swathe of seats from Rishi Sunak's beleaguered Tories. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was the highest-profile scalp of the night so far, with the seats of other Cabinet ministers also under threat as results trickled in overnight. "Tonight, people here and around the country have spoken, and they're ready for change, to end the politics of performance, a return to politics as public service", Starmer said in London, adding: "You have voted. It is now time for us to deliver." An exit poll for UK broadcasters published after polls closed at 2100 GMT on Thursday put Labour on course for a return to power for the first time since 2010 with 410 seats and a 170-seat majority. Sunak's Tories would only get 131 in the 650-seat House of Commons -- a record low -- with the right-wing vote apparently spliced by Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK party, which could bag 13 seats.

In another boost for the centrists, the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats would get 61 seats, ousting the Scottish National Party on 10 as the third-biggest party. The projected overall result bucks a rightward trend among Britain's closest Western allies, with the far right in France eyeing power and Donald Trump looking set for a return in the United States. British newspapers all focused on Labour's impending return to power for the first time since the days of Gordon Brown. "Keir We Go," headlined the Labour-supporting Daily Mirror. "Britain sees red," said The Sun, the influential Rupert Murdoch tabloid which swung behind Labour for the first time since 2005. Not everything went Starmer's way: former hard-left Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, ousted by his successor for anti-Semitism, was re-elected as an independent.  Sunak says 'I take responsibility' for election defeat British leader Rishi Sunak conceded defeat Friday to Keir Starmer's main opposition Labour party in the UK general election, saying, "I take responsibility for the loss". "Today, power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner with goodwill on all sides," said Sunak, as his Conservative party appeared heading for historic defeat to Labour.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan