The leader of the UK Labour party, Ed Miliband, announced he is resigning as leader of the party, saying he is sorry for the humiliating defeat at the polls yesterday.
In his resignation speech, Miliband said it was time for a new leader, but called on party members to keep fighting and not give in to despair.
“I take absolute and total responsibility for our defeat. I am so sorry for all of those colleagues who lost their seats,” Miliband said emotionally. He went on to say the party needed an “open and honest debate” about the best way to move forward after the stunning electoral losses.
Apparently UK Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg has also resigned.
More on Ed Miliband resignation
In a disastrous election, UK’s Labour party lost all but one of its seats in Scotland. The lost seats include those of the Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, and the party’s campaign manager Douglas Alexander. It looks like the socially liberal party ended up losing 25 seats in parliament, one of the worst defeats in recent memory..
Miliband called Conservative party leader David Cameron to concede the election Friday morning, and then called on supporters to not lose heart. “While we may have lost the election, the argument of our campaign will not go away. The issue of our unequal country will not go away,” he said.
He continued to say: “This is the issue of our time, the fight goes on and, whoever is our new leader, I know Labour will keep making the case for a country that works for working people once again.”
Closing his speech on a defiant note, Ed Miliband said: “This party has come back before and will come back again.”
Miliband will pass the leadership torch to the Labour party’s deputy leader, Harriet Harman, on Friday afternoon. Harman will serve as a caretaker leader until a new leader is elected.
Apparently there had been some discussion of Miliband staying on as a caretaker leader, but it looks liker he decided a clean break was best for everyone involved.
