After a surprise defeat in the election (all of the polls were set for a hung Parliament, where he could’ve allied with another party to gain a majority), Ed Miliband has resigned as leader of the Labour party. He told a meeting in London: 'And now it’s time for someone else to take leadership of this party', giving Harriet Harman, the deputy leader, the job as acting leader until a new one is found.
In what might've been the best speech he's ever given, he's urged people to keep on fighting the good fight 'for working people'.
'I joined this party aged 17' he said: 'I never dreamed I'd lead it.I will never give up on fighting for the Britain that I believe in.'
He also said: ‘It was the most united cohesive and enjoyable campaign I’ve been involved in’ and also, very charmingly, thanked the Milifandom for their support as well as all the canvassers, activists, candidates, supporters, people he met on the campaign trail and voters:
'Thank you for the selfies, thank you for the support and thank you for the most unlikely cult of the 21st century – Milifandom’
And obviously the Milifandom are sad at the result - yet grateful for the shoutout. Abby, the 17-year-old who started the fandom to reverse Ed Miliband's reputation as a wonk who couldn't eat a bacon sandwich properly and so apparently couldn't lead a country, tweeted:
Ed is the third leader of a party to resign today – Nick Clegg resigned after the Lib Dems lost 46 seats, saying: 'I always expected this election to be exceptionally difficult for the Liberal Democrats, given the heavy responsibilities we've had to bear in government in the most challenging of circumstances. But clearly results have been immeasurably more crushing and unkind than I could ever have feared.'
Nigel Farage also resigned after losing out on a shot at a seat in South Thanet, saying, perhaps a bit bizarrely: 'I feel an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders. I have never felt happier.'
He then tweeted:
We wonder where he'll go on holiday!
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.