General Election: Quotes of the night

On a night that has the exit poll predicting a landslide Labour victory, comparisons have been drawn with the Battle of Waterloo.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

The General Election results and reactions are rolling in throughout the night – here are some of the best quotes so far:

“The change begins right here because this is your democracy, your community and your future. You have voted. It is now time for us to deliver” – Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer after being re-elected.

“It’s clear tonight that Britain will have a new government in the morning” – Former defence secretary Grant Shapps after losing his Welwyn Hatfield seat.

“Today is our chance to turn the page and start a new chapter” – Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner in her acceptance speech.

Ex-defence secretary Grant Shapps (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)

“There’s no way of describing this as anything other than a bad night for the Conservative Party” – Former Tory minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg takes stock.

“I’m afraid the reason why the Conservative Party has been swept out is because it’s been a clown show and people are paying a heavy price for it” – Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting reflects on the exit polls.

“As I said a few weeks back, there’s going to be a reckoning on election night – there has been a seismic reckoning in Ashfield and throughout the country” – Reform UK’s Lee Anderson in his acceptance speech

“As for the Conservatives, you know, it’s going to sound odd, there’ll be a bit of a sigh of relief, even though it’s the worst results since 1832 when the Duke of Wellington was running the Tory party. So this one feels more like the Tory party’s Waterloo, frankly” – Former Conservative chancellor George Osborne looks to history for parallels.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

“Tonight the British people have spoken, and if the exit poll this evening is again a guide to results across our country as it so often is, then after 14 years the British people have chosen change” – Labour’s Bridget Phillipson after being declared the first winner of the night.

“A lot of the people – if not the majority of people – who in this election have shifted from the SNP to Labour, they still believe in independence, they haven’t shifted their opinion on independence” – Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, commenting on the SNP’s poor showing in the exit poll.

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Archive)

“It’s the biggest comeback since Lazarus” – Former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock.

“Can I say to any young girl who doesn’t think she’s good enough, everything is possible if you go for it” – Plaid Cymru’s Llinos Medi after winning the seat of Ynys Mon.

“The Conservative Party is the natural party of government and has been in this country for many long years, and so we will be very ruthless about it, we will certainly be very forensic about it” – Former Tory minister Dame Andrea Leadsom.

“I think that we have seen in this election an astonishing ill-discipline within the party” – Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland, after losing his seat.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross (Michal Wachucik/PA) (PA Wire)

“It is a historically bad night, there is no shying away from that at all and there will be a huge amount of reflection on the campaign and also clearly the last few years” – Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross

“The Liberal Democrats are on course for our best results in a century, thanks to our positive campaign with health and care at its heart” – Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.

“You have put your trust in me. And I will not let you down” – Labour’s Rachel Reeves after being re-elected as an MP in Leeds West and Pudsey.