The British Labour Party today won an historic third term – but with a
sharply reduced majority. Prime Minister Tony Blair was described by
the BBC as being “non-triumphant” as he claimed victory in his speech
to his own constituency. “There are lots of lessons to learn,” he said.

As counting continued into the early hours of the morning in the
UK, Labour’s majority of 161 in the last election appears to have been
cut to somewhere between 70 and as low as 30 – as this Guardian
election blog reports.

The result is likely to apply pressure on the future of the prime
minister. His likely successor, Chancellor Gordon Brown, took “a major
step forward on another far more widely reported personal quest to
become Labour Prime Minister”, according to The Times.

This is how the night unfolded, reports The Independent, and this is what the key players are saying, reports The Times.