Jeremy Corbyn has said he will not be leading Labour into any future general election but will stay on while a period of “reflection” and discussion takes place.
The Labour leader offers “very heartfelt thanks” to his constituents of whom he says it is his “pride and pleasure” to represent.
He stated that the pressure “on those surrounding politicians is often very, very high indeed and the media intrusion in people’s lives is very high indeed”.
He thanks his family and close friends and his wife “for all she puts up with because of the way the media behaves”.
Turning to the election result he says: “Obviously it is a very disappointing night for the party.
“But I want to say this – in the election campaign we put forward a manifesto of hope.
“However, Brexit has so polarised debate it has overridden so much of normal political debate.”
(Sourced from BBC News)