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Keir Starmer will become the next prime minister of the UK after Labour won the UK general election in a landslide, leaving the Conservative party in chaos.
Labour will grab power from the Conservatives for the first time in 14 years in what will be a landslide majority victory.
Labour reached the 326 seats needed for a majority shortly after 2pm AEDT, seven hours after polls had closed. But an exit poll released moments after voting closed suggests Labour are on course to win about 410 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons and the Conservatives 131.
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For outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak the night capped what has been a disaster of a campaign, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval.
Should the exit poll prove accurate, that would be the fewest seats for the Tories in their nearly two-century history and would leave the party in disarray.
The final result won't be known for a few hours yet, but huge challenges lie in store for Starmer, despite the expected size of victory.
Starmer will face a jaded electorate impatient for change against a gloomy backdrop of economic malaise, mounting distrust in institutions and a fraying social fabric.
"Tonight people here and around the country have spoken and they're ready for change," Starmer told supporters in his constituency in north London, as the official count showed he'd won his seat.
"You have voted. It is now time for us to deliver."
Big Conservative names fell as seats turned red
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has lost his seat, defeated by Labour in Welwyn Hatfield. Shapps, 55, was widely considered to be the government's most trusted media performer over many years and had been tipped as a potential Conservative leadership candidate to replace Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Another leadership candidate, Penny Mordaunt, was also ousted. The House of Commons leader – and King Charles coronation sword bearer – losing with a 17 per cent swing to Labour in Portsmouth North.
And Liz Truss, the former UK prime minister who resigned after just 44 days after a disastrous economic meltdown, lost by just over 600 votes to Labour's Terry Jermy in South West Norfolk despite winning the seat with a majority of 26,195 in 2019.
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Richard Holden, the chairman of the Conservative party, just held on in Basildon after a recount, seeing off the Labour candidate by just 20 votes.
Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, had been tipped to fall but also held on in the new constituency of Godalming and Ash, seeing off the Liberal Democrats.
Farage finally wins a seat
Elsewhere, Nigel Farage finally became an MP on his eighth attempt. He received 21,225 votes, a majority of 8405 over the Conservative candidate in the heavily pro-Brexit town of Clacton.
Farage's Reform Party, made inroads into the voting share across England, with his party's anti-immigrant "take our country back" sentiment and undercut support for the Conservatives.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, standing as an independent, easily beat the Labour candidate.
Corbyn, who had been suspended from the party following a row over antisemitism, decided to stand as an independent candidate in the Islington North constituency he has represented since 1983.
But Labour was not without casualties too as Jonathan Ashworth, a member of the shadow cabinet, lost Leicester South, a seat he had held for 13 years. Ashworth had a 22,000 majority going into the election but lost out to pro-Gaza independent candidate Shockat Adam.
Conservatives pay for years of chaos
Britain has experienced a run of turbulent years — some of it of the Conservatives' own making and some of it not — that has left many voters pessimistic about their country's future.
The UK's exit from the European Union followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine battered the economy, while lockdown-breaching parties held by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff caused widespread anger.
Johnson's successor, Liz Truss, rocked the economy further with a package of drastic tax cuts and lasted just 49 days in office. Rising poverty and cuts to state services have led to gripes about "Broken Britain".
– With Associated Press
