British PM concedes ‘sobering’ defeat

Rishi Sunak has survived the vote, but Tories suffered a historic loss

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has apologized to his Conservative colleagues who lost their seats, taking full responsibility for the crushing defeat his party had suffered in a snap election on Thursday.

“The Labour Party has won this general election… the British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight,” Sunak said in a brief speech lasting less than two minutes on Friday morning, as exit polls and early results projected the opposition to gain over 400 out of the 650 seats in the Parliament.

Sunak refused to answer questions, but indicated that he would not step down as an MP, promising  his North Yorkshire constituents to continue to “serve as your member of parliament,”  spending more time with them in the “week, months and years to come.”

READ MORE: UK Tories face worst election defeat in history – exit poll

Sunak already called the Labour leader Keir Stamer to congratulate him on his victory, before traveling to London, where he is expected to “say more about tonight’s result.”