Rishi Sunak Apologizes for Conservative Party's Historic Defeat

Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called defeated Conservative Party candidates to apologize for their worst performance in a general election. Sunak, who remains Leader of the Opposition, also announced his resignation after Labour Party's landslide victory. Keir Starmer begins his term as the new Prime Minister.

Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spent the weekend calling Conservative Party candidates who lost their seats in the general election to express his apologies for the party's devastating performance, which left them with just 121 seats in the House of Commons.

Several ousted MPs described the "very sympathetic call" from Sunak, who won his seat in Yorkshire but remains the Leader of the Opposition until a successor is elected. Sunak had already apologized in his farewell speech from 10 Downing Street on Friday, following the Labour Party's sweeping victory of 411 seats in a 650-seat Commons.

Among those vying to take over as party leader are former home secretaries Suella Braverman, Priti Patel, and James Cleverly, along with former business secretary Kemi Badenoch and other former ministers.

Meanwhile, newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer kicked off his term with a tour of the United Kingdom, starting in Scotland, and scheduled his first foreign visit for the NATO meeting in Washington, aiming to strengthen relations with the Biden administration.

On Saturday, Starmer spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about a potential Free Trade Agreement, with plans to meet at the earliest opportunity to further discuss the deal.

(With inputs from agencies.)