Inside Keir Starmer and Labour’s election victory evening

At 10pm on Thursday, when the explosive exit poll was revealed, Sir Keir Starmer punched the air in delight and hugged his wife.

It set the tone for a night of raucous celebrations from the Labour camp who gathered in numbers to toast a triumph that will live long in the memory.

But that was about as carried away as Sir Keir allowed himself to become over the course of the evening, insiders said last night.

The Labour leader, who was at a family friend’s home in central London when the polls closed, was described as remaining ‘cool and calm’ following the initial outburst of emotion.

Despite what seemed an inevitable victory, there remained an air of ‘nervousness’ at the property, one of the attendees said.

Sir Keir then split his time between his family and taking calls, with several long hours still separating the opposition leader from government.

First, he would himself need to be re-elected as an MP. After 2am, Sir Keir set off for the count at Camden Council. 

He kept his seat in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency with 18,884 votes – dented somewhat by Independent activist Andrew Feinstein, who campaigned against austerity and corruption.

Feinstein notably ran on a more pronounced call for end to the conflict in Gaza, criticising Sir Keir’s decision to vote against a ceasefire in the past.

Commentators noted throughout the night that Labour was losing seats to candidates that campaigned more vocally on the urgency of the situation in the Levant.

But for Sir Keir, 18,884 was enough to see him over the line. He shook hands with the other candidates, including independent candidate Bobby ‘Elmo’ Smith, and went on to join Labour campaigners and his wife, Lady Victoria, at the Tate Modern.

Large crowds waved Union Flags and the Baner Cymru amid a sea of placards calling for ‘change’ under a Labour government.

After leaving the count, Sir Keir then received the closest thing to official confirmation of the keys to No10 – a 4am concession call from Rishi Sunak.

Sources said the two had a ‘cordial and respectful’ conversation, as Sir Keir, travelling in a Range Rover only with his wife Victoria and his chauffeur, made his way to Labour’s victory party at the Tate Modern.

As he told the gathered faithful ‘we did it’, members vociferously cheered and applauded, with the decibels only set to rise as the night wore on.

Indeed, the electric atmosphere came to resemble a football match as each Tory big beast losing their seat was greeted with a huge roar – culminating in Liz Truss‘ exit – which was welcomed like ‘England winning the World Cup’.

‘Every time a big Tory loss came in the crowd roared like they were celebrating a goal,’ an aide told the Times.

The night was not without its sombre moments too, however. 

Labour lost seats, and fought bitterly for some contested by Reform, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.

Jeremy Corbyn’s resounding victory in Islington was described as an ‘eerie’ moment of ‘absolute quiet’.

After his discussion with Mr Sunak, Sir Keir acknowledged his triumph at around 5am by telling members: ‘We did it!

‘You campaigned for it, you fought for it, you voted for it, and now it has arrived. Change begins now.’

‘Across our country, people will be waking up to the news, relieved that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation,’ he continued.

During his victory lap, Sir Keir insisted that Labour had only won because of the hard workers of supporters towards creating a ‘changed’ Labour party.

‘We ran as a changed Labour party, and we will govern as a changed Labour party,’ he said.

Britain went to bed and woke up to an incoming Labour government. The results were decisive: Labour gained 211 seats on 2019’s count, up to 412.

The Tories lost 251 seats, down to 121. The Liberal Democrats achieved an outstanding turnaround, gaining 63 seats to 71.

The SNP were decimated by Labour, losing 38 seats down to just nine.

And despite earning 14 per cent of the vote, Reform won just four seats.

Later on Friday, Sir Keir stood outside Number 10 and delivered his first historic speech as Prime Minister, confirming he had accepted the King’s invitation to form a government.

After a tribute to Rishi Sunak, his ‘dedication and hard work’, focus turned to the enormous challenges ahead.

‘Our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal and a return of politics to public service,’ he said.

”If you voted Labour yesterday, we will carry the responsibility of your trust as we rebuild our country,’ he continued.

‘But whether you voted Labour or not, in fact, especially if you did not, I say to you directly – my government will serve you. 

‘Politics can be a force for good. We will show that. 

‘We have changed the Labour party, returned it to service, and that is how we will govern. County first, party second.’