Labour Party sources say Ed Miliband will be forced to stand down as leader after his party suffered a crushing defeat in the UK General Election.
“Ed has to resign.
Everyone here accepts that,” a Labour source told the New
Statesman.
In a televised speech, Miliband apologized for a “very
disappointing and difficult night for the Labour Party” and
hinted he would stand down as leader later Friday.
Sources say Miliband will issue a statement later Friday morning,
once he has returned to London for talks at Labour Party
headquarters.
This has clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night
for the Labour party. To every member and supporter, I want to
say thank you.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May
8, 2015
Labour suffered a humiliating defeat in Scotland, after the SNP
won 56 out of 59 contested seats.
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls is among senior Labour politicians to
lose their seat.
In a surprise outcome, contrary to pre-election polls, the
Conservatives emerged with the largest share of seats. David
Cameron is well on his way to securing a majority, while Labour
and the Liberal Democrats have suffered humiliating losses.
Projections say Cameron will win 328 seats in total – enough to
command a majority in the House of Commons.
Speaking after winning his Doncaster North seat, Miliband said:
“This has clearly been a very disappointing and difficult
night for the Labour Party.
“We have not made the gains we wanted in England and Wales,
and in Scotland we have seen a surge of nationalism overwhelm our
party,” said Miliband, after comfortably securing his own seat
with an increased majority.
“I want to say to all the dedicated and decent colleagues in
Scotland who have lost their seats that I am deeply sorry for
what has happened.
“And I also want to say that the next government has a huge
responsibility. It has a huge responsibility in facing the very
difficult task of keeping our country together.”
The next government has a huge responsibility to bring our
country together. What unites us is much, much more than what
divides us.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May
8, 2015
“Whatever party we come from, if we believe in the United
Kingdom we should stand up for people in every part of our United
Kingdom because I believe that what unites us is much, much more
than what divides us.”
In the early hours after the poll results came in, some Labour
Party members said it wasn’t the time to replace Miliband and
that the blame for Labour’s defeat, most notably in Scotland,
couldn’t be pinned on him alone.
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If Miliband is to resign later Friday, Labour will face a
leadership contest, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper,
Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, Shadow Justice Minister Dan
Jarvis, Shadow Care Minister Liz Kendall and Shadow Business
Secretary Chuka Umunna considered potential successors.
Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Miliband should consider
his position after presiding over a “depressing” performance.
“It is for Mr Miliband to make up his mind about his
future,” Straw told Sky News. “What we want to do is
make sure, over the next months and years, the Labour Party is in
a winning position and has not been set back in the way we were
by that first six months (after the 2010 election) which we
wasted on internal contemplation.”
The Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg have been decimated in the
election. Clegg called it a “cruel and punishing night” for his
party.