Tory big beasts fall in General Election wipeout as ex-PM Truss, Rees-Mogg, Shapps AND Mordaunt lose their seats

A STRING of Tory big beasts have fallen in a General Election wipeout as Labour stormed into power with a landslide victory.

Former PM Liz Truss, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt are among the big names who lost their seats in a night of seismic change.

Read our general election live blog here for all the latest results

In a shock moment, Truss was ousted in Norfolk South West - which was considered a safe Conservative seat.

Labour's Terry Jeremy won the seat with 11,847 votes, narrowly edging out the former PM who racked up 11,217.

Defence Secretary Shapps and Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt - who had been expected to throw their hats in the ring for leader - were also among eleven Cabinet ministers to have been ousted in the election.

Labour stormed into Downing Street after securing the required 326 seats, while the Tories have taken a battering across the UK.

Shapps suffered the first shock loss of the night as he was defeated by Labour in Welwyn Hatfield.

Mordaunt looked crestfallen as she lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour’s Amanda Martin by just 780 votes.

And Tory heavyweight Rees-Mogg was stunned by a humiliating defeat in Bath this morning.

In one flurry shortly before 4am Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Tory Deputy Chairman Jonathan Gullis and Chief Whip Simon Hart all lost their seats.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer were also ousted.

And Treasury minister Bim Afolami was unseated in Hitchin by Labour.

Michelle Donelan, David Davies, Victoria Prentis and Mark Harper were also culled in a Tory bloodbath.

Another losing out to Labour was Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs Johnny Mercer in Plymouth Moor View.

UK Minister of State for Northern Ireland Steve Baker lost his Wycombe seat to Labour's Emma Reynolds.

However, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt narrowly kept his seat in South West Surrey, and PM Rishi Sunak held Richmond and Northallerton.

Home Secretary James Cleverley kept hold of his seat in Braintree, with 35.5 per cent of the vote share.

He wrote on X this morning: "Huge thank you to the people of the Braintree constituency for returning me as your Member of Parliament."

Cleverly added: "It is a privilege to serve."

And the Tories won back Mid Bedfordshire after losing the "safe seat", formerly held by Nadine Dorries, to Labour in a 2023 by-election.

On a night where 11 Cabinet members have lost their seats, Mr Cleverly won a majority of 3,670 over Labour.

Sir Keir Starmer was named Britain's next Prime Minister as the country woke up today.

After an historic election night:

• Keir Starmer has become Britain's next Prime Minister after Labour got 412 seats amid a brutal Tory wipeout.
• He promised to lead a Labour party grounded in “public service” in his first speech as PM in front of a jubilant crowd at No 10.
• Sir Keir will now appoint his cabinet as he cracks on with his plan for change.
• Rishi Sunak admitted defeat earlier on the steps of Downing Street and apologised to the nation for his party’s failures.
• Tory big beasts including former PM Liz Truss and ex-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps have lost seats after a nightmare night for Conservatives.
• He was followed by Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt, one of eight Cabinet ministers have lost their seats
• Nigel Farage’s Reform party claimed an unprecedented four seats as they grabbed votes from the Tories.
• Tory defector Lee Anderson claimed the first Reform seat, followed by Farage, Richard Tice, and Rupert Lowe.
• Sir Keir's predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, now standing as an independent, also held onto Islington North
• All eyes are now on our new PM with Piers Morgan telling our Never Mind The Ballots election show that Sir Keir MUST deliver real change after the Tory disaster

Despite retaining his seat, Sunak admitted the British people had dealt a "sobering verdict" and conceded defeat to Labour, promising a civil handover.

He said: “The Labour Party has won this General Election. And I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.

"Today power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner with goodwill on all sides.

"That is something that should give us all confidence in our country’s stability, and future."

In a celebratory speech to rapturous applause from supporters, Sir Keir said the UK was waking up to “the sunlight of hope".

The buoyant Labour leader, meanwhile, declared "we did it" and urged "change begins now" as he gave a victory speech in London.

Shapps - who had held his Welwyn Hatfield since 2005 - looked shaky as he conceded defeat to Labour and was the first Tory to publicly admit his party has lost the election to the opposition.

Laying into the Conservatives, he fumed: "Today, voters have simply said, 'If you can't agree with each other, then we can't agree to vote for you.'

"We've forgotten a fundamental rule of politics, that people do not vote for divided parties.

"Now for the sake of the United Kingdom, I very much wish this new government well.

"But for the sake of a strong democracy, the Conservative Party needs to play its part by recognising what has gone wrong and using this time in opposition to refresh and rebuild the Conservative Party.

"We should be clear about what went wrong, put it right, and create a plan to the public.

"And then we must ensure that we present it to them in a way which means we can return within five years, not 15 years or longer."

Emotional ex-Portsmouth North MP Mordaunt said: "Democracy is never wrong.

"Tonight, the Conservative Party has taken a battering because it failed to honour the trust that people had placed in it.

"You can speak all you like have security and freedom but you can't have either if you are afraid.

"Afraid about the cost of living or accessing health care, or whether the responsibility you shoulder will be recognised and rewarded.

"That fear steals the future And it only makes the present matter. And that is why we lost.

"I've lost many good colleagues tonight. but I hope that like me, they intend to carry on serving their communities, with an even stronger heart.

"Our country needs all of us."

Suella Braverman - who kept hold of her seat in Fareham and Waterlooville - was equally scathing despite her win.

She said: "The Conservative Party has let you down. You.

"The great British people voted for us over 14 years. And we did not keep our promises.

"We've acted as if we're entitled to vote, regardless of what we did.

"Regardless of what we didn't do, despite promising time after time, that we would do those things.

"And we need to learn our lesson. Because if we don't, bad as tonight has been for my party, but we'll have many worse nights to come.

"The country deserves better And we've got to do better.
And I will do everything in my power to rebuild trust.

"We need to listen to you. You have spoken to us very clearly."

Conservative seats across Britain fell like dominoes to Sir Keir Starmer's party as it makes unprecedented gains.

And in a shock, Labour Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth was ousted from Leicester South by less than 1,000 votes by pro-Gaza independent Shockat Adam.

Reform UK chief Nigel Farage was elected to parliament for the first time on his eighth attempt, taking the Clacton seat with 21,225 votes and said his party is now targeting Labour seats.

Though the party has so far fallen short of the 13 predicted in the exit poll.

He said: "What is interesting is there's no enthusiasm for Labour, there's no enthusiasm for Starmer whatsoever.

"In fact, about half of the vote is simply an anti-Conservative vote. This Labour Government will be in trouble, very, very quickly."

Elsewhere, Starmer's party has clawed back constituencies lost to Boris Johnson in the Red Wall in 2019.

And the reds have also booted out Tory mainstays Sir Robert Buckland in Swindon South and Justin Tomlinson in Swindon North.

Starmer's party has also gained the totemic bellwether seat of Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

The leader himself has held his seat in Holborn and St Pancras - though saw his votes drop from the last election.