Ed Miliband Resigns As Labour Party Leader

Ed Miliband has announced his resignation as leader of the Labour Party after a disastrous election defeat which saw the Conservatives win a majority.

He made the announcement shortly after noon to a room full of supporters, saying solemnly: "This is not the speech I wanted to give today because I believe that Britain needed a Labour government.

"I still do but the public voted otherwise last night.

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"I am tendering my resignation taking effect after this afternoon's commemoration of VE-Day.

"I want to do so straight away because the party needs an open debate about the right way forward without constraint."

Mr Miliband says he phoned David Cameron earlier to congratulate him on his victory.

He then told the audience: "I take absolute and total responsibility for this result."

Harriet Harman will take over the role temporarily, but says she will step down as deputy leader when the new leader is chosen.

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Labour's dismal night was compounded just after 8am when shadow chancellor Ed Balls lost his Morley and Outwood seat to the Conservatives by 422 votes, following a recount.

Forecasts of major defeats north of the border were also borne out with both Scottish Labour Party leader Jim Murphy and shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander losing to the SNP.

Labour also lost what was its safest seat in Scotland, with Nicola Sturgeon's party seizing the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency which had been held by former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Addressing people who voted for Labour on Thursday, Mr Miliband said: "You will feel disappointed and even bleak. Whilst we have lost the election the argument of our campaign will not disappear.

"The issue of our unequal country will not go away.

"This is the challenge of our time, the fight continues and whoever is our new leader, I know that the Labour Party will keep making the case for a country that works for working people once again people once again."

Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell told Sky News: "This defeat is so bad for us, and I think it’s much more than about the leader.

"We're still rather trapped in the prism of the Blair/Brown thing."

He added: "What happened in Scotland I think is a calamity for us and is a calamity for the UK."

Sky's Sophy Ridge quoted a Labour source who said: "In four years (Miliband's team) have undone the work of a political generation and taken us back to pre-Kinnock."