Britain's Labour Party has officially ended the Conservative party's 14 years in power, winning 326 seats in the parliamentary election, meaning it now holds a majority in the 650-seat strong House of Commons.
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The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has conceded defeat, saying the opposition Labour Party had won.
"The Labour Party has won this general election and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory," Sunak said after winning his parliamentary seat in northern England.
"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."
Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer said the country was "ready for change" as his party appeared on course for a landslide win in the UK general election.
Starmer was speaking after being re-elected in his seat of Holborn and St Pancras, as counting continued to confirm what exit polls predicted.
Labour was forecast to have a 170-seat majority in the Commons, with the Conservatives reduced to their lowest number of MPs on record.
Starmer, set to become the UK's next Prime Minister, said "you have voted, it is now time for us to deliver".
In his acceptance speech after his re-election was made official, Sir Keir said: "Tonight, people here and around the country have spoken and they are saying they're ready for change.
"To end the politics of performance and return to politics as public service."
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson held Houghton and Sunderland South for Labour in the first confirmed result of the night, but Reform UK pushed the Conservatives in an early indication of the advances made by Farage's party.
"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", Phillipson said.
"They have chosen Labour and they have chosen the leadership of Keir Starmer. Today our country with its proud history has chosen a brighter future."
The exit poll suggests Labour is on course for 410 seats, with the Tories reduced to 131.
The Liberal Democrats are forecast to win 61 seats, Reform UK on 13 and the Green Party two.
In Scotland, the SNP are expected to secure 10 seats with Plaid Cymru in Wales on four.
The poll for broadcasters involved more than 20,000 voters at 133 polling stations.
The results mean a Labour prime minister in No 10 for the first time since 2010 and the Conservatives facing a fight for the future direction of the party.
Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland was the first high-profile Tory casualty as he lost to Labour in Swindon South.
He warned that a lurch to the right after the election would be "disastrous" for the Conservatives and took aim at "ill-discipline" within the Conservative Party after losing his seat.
Former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said it is "clearly a terrible night", suggesting voters had been put off by the revolving door in No 10 which saw Boris Johnson replaced first by Liz Truss and then by Sunak.
"Voters expect the prime minister they have chosen to remain the prime minister and for it to be the voters who decide when that person is changed", Rees-Mogg told the BBC.
After 14 years in power, it was always going to be a difficult election for the Conservatives, but the sometimes shambolic campaign - triggered at a time of Sunak's choosing - has contributed to the party's likely defeat.
From the rain-drenched speech announcing the surprise July 4 poll, through to the D-Day debacle as he left Normandy early to record a TV interview, Sunak struggled to convince the electorate he was the right man to lead the country.
The Prime Minister was not helped by the scandal of Tory candidates and officials allegedly heading to the bookies armed with inside knowledge of the date.
Sunak is expected to resign after leading his party to a massive defeat, but many of the contenders jostling to replace him are nervously awaiting their own constituency results to see if their leadership dreams survive the night.
Meanwhile, Reform UK Nigel Farage has been elected to parliament and says his party would win "many, many seats" across the country.
He added: "This is going to be six million votes plus. This, folks, is huge."
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said his party was "on course for our best results in a century".
with Reuters
Australian Associated Press
