'I'm sorry': Rishi Sunak apologises to the nation and quits as PM after Tories' crushing election defeat
5 July 2024, 10:46 | Updated: 5 July 2024, 11:29
Rishi Sunak has officially stepped down as Prime Minister after a catastrophic election that saw the Tories slump to their lowest ever number of MPs.
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The ex-PM flew back to London from Yorkshire where he conceded. He delivered a statement at Downing Street today where he said 'I'm sorry.'
Mr Sunak told the nation today in his resignation speech: “I am sorry.
“I have given this job my all but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change.
“I have heard your anger. Following this result I will step down as party leader, not immediately , but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place.”
He said Sir Keir Starmer is a "decent, public spirited man, who I respect."
Mr Sunak and his wife and his wife Akshata Murty were then driven to meet with King Charles at Buckingham Palace where the outgoing Tory leader formally gave his resignation to the monarch.
The couple were greeted at the King's door by Sir Clive Alderton, principal private secretary to the King and Queen, and the King's equerry Commander William Thornton, Royal Navy.
He is expected to leave privately and unseen with his family after the audience with the King.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said: "The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP had an audience of The King this morning and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which His Majesty was graciously pleased to accept."
Mr Sunak now faces the prospect of trying to rally the Conservative Party with a leadership contest widely expected in the coming weeks or months.
Mr Sunak shouldered the burden for a "sobering verdict" at the election, as competing Tory factions began their battle over the diminished party's future.
The outgoing Prime Minister said it had been a "difficult night" and apologised to Conservative candidates who had lost their seats, as he held onto his own Richmond and Northallerton constituency.
General Election LIVE - Britain Decides: Labour landslide wipes out Tories as Liz Truss loses seat
Shellshocked Liz Truss motionless on stage as she loses to Labour by just 600 votes
Mr Sunak's apology was echoed by Suella Braverman, but the Tory leadership challenger was sorry for her party's record in Government, suggesting it had not listened enough to the electorate.
Elsewhere, Liz Truss lost her Norfolk South West seat, which she won with a thumping 26,200 majority in 2019, to Labour.
The former prime minister, who during her short time in Downing Street oversaw the disastrous mini-budget that spooked markets, said the Tories had not "delivered sufficiently" on voters' priorities including curbing immigration.
Ms Truss declined to give a concession speech.
Meanwhile, former justice Sir Robert Buckland warned that a lurch to the right would be "disastrous" for the party after he lost his Swindon South seat.
Speaking at Northallerton leisure centre after his result came in, Mr Sunak said: "The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn... and I take responsibility for the loss.
"To the many good, hard-working Conservative candidates who lost tonight, despite their tireless efforts, their local records and delivery, and their dedication to their communities. I am sorry."
Liz Truss loses her seat to Labour in South West Norfolk
The Prime Minister held onto his seat with a nearly 13,000 majority over his nearest rival, Labour's Tom Wilson, but conceded defeat for the Tories amid crushing results elsewhere for the party.
Among the Cabinet ministers to lose their seats overnight were Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt to Labour, and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer to the Liberal Democrats.
Suella Braverman apologises for ‘entitled’ Tories’ as she keeps her seat
Jeremy Hunt won the Godalming and Ash seat in Surrey despite a threat from the Liberal Democrats.
The outgoing Chancellor said the Conservatives' "crushing" defeat was a "bitter pill to swallow" for the party.
Former home secretary Ms Braverman was elected to the new constituency of Fareham and Waterlooville.
She said "I'm sorry" twice during her victory speech.
"I'm sorry that my party didn't listen to you," 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 your 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, we'll have many worse nights to come."
Thanking voters in her constituency, Ms Braverman said they were "patriotic, common sense, kindly, dedicated, enterprising".
Outgoing Home Secretary James Cleverly, who held his seat in Braintree, Essex, warned that "there is nothing honourable in presenting simple and thin solutions to challenging and complex problems".
Mr Shapps, who lost his Welwyn Hatfield seat to Labour, said his party had an "inability to iron out (its) differences" amid and endless "soap opera".
And in Portsmouth, outgoing Tory MP Ms Mordaunt said the Tories had lost because they "failed to honour the trust that people had placed in it".
She added: "Our renewal as a party and a country will not be achieved by us talking to an ever smaller slice of ourselves but being guided by the people of our country. And if we want again to be the natural party of government, then our values must be the people's."
Seats previously held by Tory big beasts, including Boris Johnson's Uxbridge and South Ruislip and Theresa May's Maidenhead, were taken by Labour and the Liberal Democrats respectively.
Tory Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, who had signalled his intention to launch a Tory leadership bid after the election, said "thank God I'm a free man" after he was defeated by Labour in Wycombe.
Business and trade minister Greg Hands lost Chelsea and Fulham to Labour.
