Election night in quotes

BBC News Online rounds up the most memorable soundbites as Labour repeats its 1997 landslide at the 2001 general election.

This is a night of history for our party. For 100 years we've been in government for short periods of time but never won a full successive second term. Our mandate is to carry on the work that we started.

Tony Blair, Prime Minister

It's vital that the party be given the chance to choose a leader who can build on my work but also take new initiatives and hopefully command a larger personal following in the country. And I've therefore decided to step down as leader of the Conservative party.

William Hague, Leader of the Opposition

Having fought a campaign in terms of honesty and being straightforward and putting quality and fairly-funded public services at the centre of our appeal we must make sure that that message is taken to the floor of the House of Commons in the next parliament.

Charles Kennedy, Lib Dem leader

I believe that the scale of our victory and the wide margin between ourselves and our opponents reflects not just that we have won the battle of votes but the battle of ideas.

Gordon Brown, Chancellor

He has suffered a tremendous defeat and he has made that decision... His party must now decide how they deal with the election of a new leader. We delivered and that's why we got the vote. It's quite an emphatic one.

John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister, on William Hague's resignation as leader

I do not think that this is the time to be speculating on the succession, that will come in due course.

Ann Widdecombe, Shadow Home Secretary, on whether she would be running for the leadership

This is not about personalities. The Conservative Party needs to re-establish its identity and appeal to people once again. We have got to do a lot of thinking and I hope to play my part in that and it is the thinking that matters more than the people.

Alan Duncan, Tory trade and industry spokesman, on William Hague's resignation as leader

I know he is a man of strong personal judgment and determination and he makes up his mind and he does what he thinks is right and he does it quickly. I think we have to respect that, even those of us who would have thought a longer period of reflection would be better to choose the right person to succeed him if he was going to go.

Lord Brittan, former Tory minister, on William Hague's resignation as leader

I am surprised, but... I think he has done the right thing. It is a very honourable way to behave, and I don't think the situation was tenable in the circumstances of us actually having lost some seats. I think it would not have been possible for him to have been a kind of caretaker leader, the fight would have been for who was going to succeed him.

John Maples, former Tory minister and victor in Stratford-on-Avon, on William Hague's resignation as leader

There is no doubt that the Tory party at the moment has left itself marooned on the edges of the national debate. If we don't get this rethink of strategy right then it's possible that we'll drift further away from the mainstream of British politics and the Liberal Democrats would love to take our place.

Ian Taylor, Conservative victor in Esher and Walton

We fought a hard campaign based on principles and it has borne fruit.

Gillian Shephard, former Tory minister, on re-election with an increased majority in South West Norfolk

They underestimated Hartlepool and they underestimated me because I am a fighter not a quitter

Peter Mandelson on being re-elected

Turnout is low - there's something sick in the heart of our politics.

Lord Ashdown, former Lib Dem leader

The Tories are still an effective force in Scottish politics. One is better than nothing, we have broken the duck.

David McLetchie, leader Scottish Conservatives, on the Tories winning a single seat in Scotland

In politics, as in life, you have bad days as well as good days. And I think today has been a good day. I'm a fighter not a quitter.

Peter Mandelson, former Labour cabinet minister

As far as the Conservative party is concerned this is another very disappointing result for us. I hope no-one will say anything hasty in the coming hours and days that any of us might wish to regret thereafter.

Michael Portillo, Shadow Chancellor

Chesterfield is a solid Labour seat, it is not a New Labour seat.

Tony Benn, on the loss of his former Chesterfield constituency to the Lib Dems

Good morning. Let's go back home and prepare for breakfast.

Boris Johnson, Conservative victor in Michael Heseltine's old seat of Henley

No apologies, no regrets. I've won one, lost one. That's not a bad record for an amateur.

Former BBC journalist Martin Bell, who failed to win at Brentwood and Ongar

I'm quite glad that the Liberal Party has gained some seats from the Conservatives, demonstrating there is a vote in this country for a party that says we need to spend more on public services, if we have to increase the taxes to do it then we will do it.

Roy Hattersley, former deputy leader of the Labour party

I am thrilled, honoured and deeply touched that people have held faith in me.

Dr Richard Taylor, independent candidate, who gained Wyre Forest from Labour, standing for the Independent Kidderminster Hospital Health party

I spent some time in the Conservative party... and as Winston Churchill said 'I left the party to stop saying stupid things'

Shaun Woodward, Tory defector to Labour, having won St Helens

Labour are welcome to him... Shaun must live with his own conscience. He could clearly not find his way up the motorway if he didn't have his butler with him.

Steve Norris, former Tory minister

[It's] the highest for any such party in a decade.

Political analyst Prof Anthony King on the 5091 votes for the BNP in Oldham East

My role will and should change in a second term. We will be far more focused on the strategic less on the day-to-day. The press will be seeing less of me.

Alastair Campbell, PM's official spokesman

I am a pro-European and would make the Conservative Party unlikely to turn to me at the present time. We have a leader and we don't want to start talking about the leader if we have a disappointing result. We think William Hague fought a courageous campaign and I think he will carry on as leader.

Kenneth Clarke, prominent Tory backbencher