Labour has secured an historic third term in government and Tony Blair has pledged to focus on the public’s priorities.
The government saw its majority cut from 167 seats in 2001 to just 66, with the Conservatives gaining 30 seats and Lib Dems nine.
Blair told reporters: “I have listened and I have learned.”
He promised to tackle immigration and re-establish respect in the classrooms, town centres and on the UK’s streets.
Michael Howard also announced he would be standing down as Conservative leader.
He said he wanted to "do now what is best for my party, and above all for my country".
However, he will stay as leader until the party's rules on selecting a successor had been changed.
Blair is the only Labour leader to have won three elections in a row but his margin of victory is less than half what it was in the Labour landslides of 1997 and 2001 - and he has the lowest share of the vote for a ruling party in modern times.
