Election 2024: Sir Keir Starmer offers ‘sunlight of hope’ as he gives victory speech

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged “change begins now” as he said Britain would be waking up to the news of a Labour government.

The Labour leader addressed a crowd of activists and MPs, including mayor Sadiq Khan, at a victory rally at the Tate Modern in central London after a landslide victory that saw the party unseat eight cabinet ministers.

Sir Keir, who arrived alongside his wife Victoria, said: “Across our country, people will be waking up to the news, relief that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation.

“And now we can look forward, walk into the morning, the sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through the day, shining once again, on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back.”

Starmer – who is set to enter No10 with a majority of around 170 seats – declared: “We did it!” He added: “Change begins now”.

His speech came after the Labour Party reached the threshold of 326 seats, granting them a parliamentary majority.

It makes Starmer Britain’s next Labour Prime Minister, once he meets with King Charles this morning and is asked to form a government.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said earlier this morning as he held onto his seat in Richmond and Northallerton in Yorkshire, that: “The Labour Party has won this general election, and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.

He added: “I will now head down to London, where I will say more about tonight’s result, before I leave the job as Prime Minister, to which I have given my all.”

Sir Keir pledged his party would “today… begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal and start to rebuild our country”.

In his victory speech, he added: “Our task is nothing less than renewing the ideals that hold this country together.”