Victoire historique d'un parti travailliste affaibli[en] 

Labour will now have to govern more cautiously. The loss of around 70 seats, and more small party and independent MPs than in any parliament since 1945, has made the political landscape murky. A weakened PM Tony Blair will also have to pay more heed to the rebels within the Labour Party.

Blair acknowledged that the war in Iraq had played a role in the outcome. Speculation was rife as to how long Blair will now remain in office. 

His likely successor, Finance Minister Gordon Brown, said that Labour had suffered a protest vote, and promised to "listen and learn so that we can serve our country and our community even better in the years to come". 

Boris Johnson, a Conservative candidate in west London, commented: "What we are now seeing I think is the slow, sad political extinction of Tony Blair."