British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that he will be stepping down as the leader of the Conservatives after his party’s disastrous performance in the general election on Thursday.
Sunak took to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, writing: “This is a difficult day, but I leave this job honored to have been prime minister of the best country in the world.
“I have given this job my all. But you have sent a clear message, and yours is the only judgment that matters,” he said, addressing Conservative Party members.
Moments after posting the message, Sunak delivered a speech outside 10 Downing Street, clarifying that he will remain as the Tory leader until his successor is selected.
“I would like to say, first and foremost, I am sorry. I have given this job my all. I have heard your anger, your disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss,” he said.
A long lineup of UK Conservative big names, including 11 cabinet ministers, have lost their seats in the party’s worst-ever electoral defeat. Britons went to the polls on Thursday to elect 650 members of the House of Commons.
As the results came in, the extent of the Labour Party’s landslide victory became clear, in what former Tory leader William Hague called 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 highest-profile MPs to be ousted.
With most votes counted, the Conservatives are on course to retain just 120 seats. The Labour Party has won 412, giving them a resounding majority. The Liberal Democrats are in third place with 71, 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 point the finger at Sunak, saying he “will go down as the Conservative prime minister and leader who had the worst election result in over a century.”
Party recriminations erupted as the scale of the rout became clear. Former Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, who lost his seat, has suggested aligning the Tories’ agenda with that of Nigel Farage’s Eurosceptic, anti-immigration Reform UK party.
Shapps blamed the drubbing on bickering among the Tories, denouncing what he called an “endless political soap opera out of internal rivalries and divisions.”
