The Labour Party won a historic landslide in the General election.

The party has taken 412 seats giving it a majority of 174.

It is the worst Conservative result in terms of seats in history, with the party on 121. The Liberal Democrats have their highest tally since 1923, taking 72 seats.

The SNP have nine seats, a significant drop and one that reflected a Labour resurgence in Scotland for the first time in over a decade.

Reform UK have five and Plaid Cymru and the Green Party have four each.

Some 23 seats were won by other parties, all in Northern Ireland, and independent candidates.

Vote share

Labour gained over 200 seats but their vote share increased by less than two percentage points to 34%.

The Conservatives saw their vote share plummet by 20 points to 24% and the party lost 251 seats.

Reform are in third place by share of the vote on 14% but they found it difficult to convert votes into seats. The party has returned five MPs, including party leader Nigel Farage in Clacton.

By contrast, the Liberal Democrats’ 12% vote share translated into 72 seats.

The Greens recorded their best ever general election performance, winning four seats and seven per cent of the vote.

Early years reactions

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said:

“There is no doubt that Labour is entering government at a crucial and challenging time for England’s early years sector.  

“Nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are less than two months away from the next phase of the early entitlement expansion, at a time when the sector continues to deal with the consequences of a severe staffing crisis and sustained underfunding. As such, clear and decisive action to address the multitude of challenges facing the early years has never been more urgently needed. 

“And while Labour’s manifesto includes a commitment to increase primary school-based nurseries, we at the Alliance are absolutely clear that this must form part of much wider plans to support the sector and safeguard its future, underpinned by increased early years funding and a comprehensive workforce strategy. 

“We welcome today’s election result as an important opportunity for a fresh start, and look forward to working closely with the new government to support the meaningful action needed to ensure that our vital sector is able not just to survive, but to thrive.” 

Purnima Tanuku OBE, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said:  

“The results of the election have delivered a clear mandate for Labour. While the campaign showed that children’s early years were a priority for voters we haven’t seen the main political parties give the issue the focus it deserves.

“Labour has made a number of pledges on early education and care throughout the campaign . The sector is eager to see more detail and providers want to be able to do the best for all our children, so we need to be engaged in any discussions about how their plans can be delivered.

“The urgent challenges the sector is facing around underfunding and the workforce must be a priority for the new government. We wait to hear the announcement on new ministerial appointments and we will work closely with ministers and senior civil servants to ensure early education and childcare is a priority and we can focus on solutions that will make a difference.

“We know that investing in children’s early education and care is the best way to give them the best start in life, support parents who want to work and boost local economies. The work starts now to ensure our sector, and the amazing people who work in it, are properly supported to make the first five years count four our youngest children.”

Courteney Donaldson, managing director – Childcare & Education, Christie & Co said: “Very shortly, we’re likely to see Bridget Phillipson – who has served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Education since 2021 – be appointed as the new Education Minister. At the Labour Party conference in Autumn 2023, Bridget made it clear that the Labour Party would work tirelessly to end profiteering across the children’s social care sector.

“Labour has pledged over 3,000 new nursery classes across England to open up access to childcare hours for families, with spare school classrooms to be converted into high-quality spaces for nurseries. While this could increase capacity, in a typical school classroom, it is not necessarily an appropriate space for a nursery-aged child – inadequate toilet facilities, access to direct age-appropriate outdoor access, sleep areas, etc. Equally, it is of the utmost importance that services are not duplicated. It remains to be seen how the intended creation of new provisions will work in practice. Also, given the commitment that Labour has made regarding the removal of VAT breaks for private schools, it is to be expected that there may well be a significant increase in demand for places from pupils transitioning from independent schools thus, where these unused classrooms are set to be repurposed, such space may no longer remain available.

“Governments over the past 20 to 25 years have failed to acknowledge the importance of early childhood education – how it benefits children, working parents, and those in education or training, nor the forward-looking benefits and economic prospects for our country as a whole. So, Labour’s pledge to ‘support staff working in Childcare & Education so they are recognised for the important work…’ is vital. There hasn’t been any detail on how they will do this yet.

“Labour also pledged in its manifesto to commit to the ‘enhanced entitlements’ the Government has offered. Further clarity is needed on whether they will commit to increasing the rates in line with inflation in the future, something that historically has not happened.

“One final point that is important for owners to bear in mind, is the potential for changes to Capital Gains Tax in the future. While Labour has pledged not to increase Corporation Tax, Income Tax, National Insurance or VAT, they have not explicitly ruled out increasing the rate at which capital gains are taxed, and it would not be unreasonable to suggest this could come into focus either in their first Autumn Statement or, more likely, at next year’s Spring Budget.”