Britain's centre-left Labour Party comfortably won a historic general election, partial results showed Friday, ousting the Conservative Party by a huge margin in a vote that means the staunch U.S. ally will get its sixth prime minister in eight politically turbulent years.

Labour leader Keir Starmer, 61, a former lawyer, took over as prime minister from Rishi Sunak, who ascended to the role in 2022. Britain elects a party, not a specific leader, to rule the country − of the past five Conservative prime ministers, only three were directly elected.

"Change begins now," Starmer said in an address early Friday after Sunak conceded defeat.

Results were still trickling in, but Labour passed the threshold to secure a majority and an exit poll projected that Labour will win 410 seats to the Conservatives' 131 in Britain's 650-seat Parliament, a majority of 170. The exit poll was carried out by the polling company Ipsos, jointly for British broadcasters BBC News, ITV News and Sky News.

Sunak described the outcome as a "sobering verdict." Announcing he would resign as prime minister outside No. 10 Downing St., he said, "I have heard your anger, disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss."

Starmer formally became prime minister Friday after being invited to form a government by King Charles in a ceremony known as the "kissing of the hands."

Labour will replace a Conservative government whose reputation was deeply marred by Britain's exit from the European Union, known as Brexit, and its failure to reduce record immigration levels and repair the nation's aging infrastructure and beleaguered public services.

Voters rejected the Conservatives after 14 years of rule, experts said, because the party could not come to grips with a cost-of-living crisis that bruised the party's reputation for financial competence.

Britons feel dissatisfied. They are worse off economically in recent years, and poverty has gone up. Compared with the U.S., Germany and other wealthy nations, Britain's economy has stagnated since the 2008 financial crisis, according to the Office for National Statistics, a government-affiliated watchdog. After adjusting for inflation, salaries have barely risen.

(With Inputs From Agencies)