Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, along with 11 cabinet ministers, have been voted out of office in a historic defeat.
A significant number of prominent Conservative politicians, including 11 cabinet ministers, have lost their seats in the party’s most devastating electoral defeat ever. British citizens went to the polls on Thursday to elect 650 members of the House of Commons.
As the results came in, the magnitude of the Labour Party’s landslide victory became clear, with former Tory leader William Hague describing it as a “catastrophic” night for his party.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, along with Defense Secretary Grant Shapps and Commons leader Penny Mordaunt were among the most high-profile MPs to be removed from office.
With most votes counted, the Conservatives are projected to retain just 120 seats. The Labour Party has secured 412, giving them a strong majority. The Liberal Democrats are in third place with 71 seats, followed by the Scottish National Party with ten seats, Eurosceptic anti-immigration party Reform UK taking 13, and the Greens with two constituencies
In his concession speech, Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak said: “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight. There is much to learn and reflect on and I take responsibility for the loss.”
Former chairman of the Conservative Party Sir Brandon Lewis was quick to criticize Sunak, stating that he “will go down as the Conservative prime minister and leader who had the worst election result in over a century.”
Party infighting erupted as the extent of the defeat became evident. Former Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, who lost his seat, has proposed aligning the Tories’ agenda with that of Nigel Farage’s Eurosceptic, anti-immigration Reform UK party.
Shapps blamed the crushing defeat on internal squabbling among the Tories, condemning what he called an “endless political soap opera out of internal rivalries and divisions.”