Jeremy Corbyn has increased Labour's share of the vote by more than any other of the party's election leaders since 1945.
Labour's proportion of the vote grew 9.6 per cent in Thursday's poll — the biggest swing since Clement Attlee shortly after the Second World War.
After the shock election result, which saw the Conservative Party lose its majority, Mr Corbyn announced: "We are ready to serve this country."
Mr Attlee, who was instrumental in the creation of the welfare state, swept to victory with a 10.4 per cent vote share increase after a long period of wartime austerity.
Only Tony Blair has come close to achieving such a surge in support since when he won a landslide victory in 1997.
With one yet seat to be announced, 261 Labour MPs have been elected, increasing their number by 29.
