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2019 UK Election: Boris hails ‘stonking mandate’ after historic win

Britain will leave the EU on January 31, Boris Johnson says as he hails a historic Conservative win and a ‘new dawn’ for the country.

Jacquelin Magnay and Anne Barrowclough
38 min read
8:53PMDecember 13, 2019.
Updated 9:03PMDecember 13, 2019
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Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a victory speech at QEII as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping election victory.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a victory speech at QEII as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping election victory.

That concludes our live coverage of the 2019 UK Election. Britain has woken up to a historic Tory win, as Boris Johnson’s party reaches toward the biggest majority of any party since 2001.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday hailed a political “earthquake” in Britain after a thumping election victory which clears the way for the country to finally leave the EU next month after years of paralysing deadlock.

With all but one result declared for the 650-seat parliament, Johnson’s Conservative party has secured 364 seats — its biggest majority since the heyday of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Condemning more than three years of political wrangling over Brexit, Johnson vowed in his victory speech on Friday to “put an end to all that nonsense” and “get Brexit done on time by January 31, no ifs, no buts”.

By contrast the main opposition Labour party suffered its worst electoral performance since before World War II, forcing leader Jeremy Corbyn to announce plans for his departure.

Sterling jumped overnight to its highest level since mid-2018 on hopes that Johnson will deliver his promise to “Get Brexit Done” after years of uncertainty and deep divisions over Britain’s future.

Early Friday it had pulled back a little to trade at $1.3403. With such a large majority of MPs, Johnson will be able to get the divorce deal he struck with Brussels through parliament in time to meet the January 31 deadline.

Ratifying the deal would formalise the end of almost five decades of EU-UK integration, although both sides still need to thrash out a new trade and security agreement.

EU Council President Charles Michel said the bloc was set for talks but would do its utmost to protect European priorities.

“My point is very clear: we are ready. We have decided what are our priorities,” Michel said as he arrived at an EU summit where leaders would discuss the aftermath of the UK vote.

The result of Thursday’s election -- the third in almost five years -- signals a personal victory for Johnson, a former London mayor and foreign minister who helped lead the Brexit campaign to victory in the 2016 EU referendum.

US President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations on a “great WIN!” and said London and Washington would be able to strike a “massive new trade deal” after Brexit.

“This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris!” he said.

- Taking the north -

The Conservatives had been ahead in opinion polls for weeks but the scale of their victory, after a wet and windy pre-Christmas election, was unexpected.

The party took a string of traditionally Labour seats that had not voted Tory for decades, but many of which had backed “Leave” in 2016.

“We must understand now what an earthquake we have created,” Johnson later told party staff, according to the Press Association news agency.

He earlier declared when he was re-elected as an MP that voters had given him “a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done”.

Johnson now has up to five years to govern until he is obliged to call another election.

Labour collapse

Labour was heading to its worst result since 1935, losing 59 seats to 203, after what Corbyn admitted had been a “very disappointing night”.

He said he would be stepping down after a period of “reflection”, and would not be leading the party into the next election, which is due by 2024.

Corbyn had promised a second referendum on Brexit in a bid to appeal to half of British voters who still want to stay in the EU.

But he had focused Labour’s campaign on a radical programme of economic change, including re-nationalising some key industries, which failed to woo traditional voters.

Speaking in the early hours of Friday, Corbyn defended his “manifesto of hope” and maintained his policies were “extremely popular” during the campaign.

But he said: “Brexit has so polarised and divided debate in this country, it has overridden so much of a normal political debate.” Corbyn is personally unpopular and dogged by accusations of sympathising with proscribed terror groups and failing to tackle anti-Semitism within the Labour party.

This is Labour’s fourth successive electoral defeat — and the second under Corbyn.

Softer Brexit?

The anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats also did poorly and announced they would replace Jo Swinson as leader after she lost her seat in western Scotland to the Scottish National Party (SNP).

The Lib Dems were predicted to win 11 seats, down one on the last election in 2017.

Analysts said Swinson’s campaign to reverse Brexit without even a new referendum was unpopular, while efforts to create a “Remain” alliance to stop Brexit failed.

By contrast the Scottish National Party (SNP), which wants to stop Brexit and deliver an independent Scotland, gained 13 seats to reach 48.

Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party failed to win any seats, but he claimed to have helped Johnson standing down his own candidates in Tory-held seats.

Johnson has promised to put his Brexit plan to parliament before the Christmas break, although it will not likely be ratified until January.

He has then just 11 months to agree a new partnership with the EU before a post-Brexit transition period ends in December 2020.

But with a comfortable majority in parliament, analysts note he could choose to extend that time and negotiate a closer trade deal than previously envisaged.

“Ironically, this is a freer hand for Johnson to negotiate a softer version of Brexit,” said Simon Hix of the London School of Economics.

AFP

How it all unfolded:

8.30pm: Split vote

Experts say the battle for Brexit is now officially over.

Tony Travers, from the department of government at the London School of Economics, attributed the failure of “remain” to a split in the vote between opposition parties.

Instead, Johnson’s Tories had the bulk of the Leave vote, he told AFP. “The pro-Brexit Leave vote was always a bit more determined than the Remain vote. The Leave vote just wanted to go, didn’t like the EU. That’s played itself out again tonight.

“In the end, the Leave vote is more solid and more committed.” Johnson -- who campaigned largely on a pledge to “Get Brexit Done” -- issued a call for unity after more than three years of deadlock.

Conservative Party supporters celebrate.
Conservative Party supporters celebrate.

Experts said the Liberal Democrats’ pledge to cancel Brexit altogether without a vote if it was elected was unpopular. Even some pro-EU supporters believed it was undemocratic.

“I do think the ‘revoke Article 50’ was a disaster,” said Simon Hix, a political scientist at the London School of Economics.

“They already had all the hardcore remainers, they weren’t going to get any more.” He added: “(Leader Jo Swinson) completely alienated Remain Tories... A lot of those reluctant remainer Tories have gone and voted for Johnson.” Labour, which was criticised for a non-committal position on Brexit, appeared to offer no alternative, particularly with its leader Jeremy Corbyn such a divisive figure.

The party offered to renegotiate Brexit with Brussels and put their deal to a public vote alongside an option to remain.

But Corbyn said he would remain neutral, while wider criticism about his leadership, particularly over claims of anti-Semitism in Labour, appear to have been a turn-off.

Attempts at tactical voting -- touted as a way of returning pro-EU parties -- also failed, despite claims of a large turnout, particularly of young voters.

AFP

7.20pm: Lib Dems seek leader after Swinson loss

The UK’s Liberal Democrats have appointed the party’s deputy leader Sir Ed Davey and president Baroness Sal Brinton as joint leaders after Jo Swinson’s election defeat.

A leadership election will take place in the new year, the party announced on Friday, after a damaging night that saw its leader lose her seat to the Scottish National Party.

Swinson said the result was “hugely disappointing” in her seat and across the country as Boris Johnson romped to victory with a comfortable Conservative majority.

She said in a statement released just hours after her defeat: “I am proud that in this campaign, the Liberal Democrats have stood up for openness, generosity and hope. We were honest about what we believe in and what we were trying to achieve.

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson lost her East Dumbartonshire constituency and has resigned as leader.
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson lost her East Dumbartonshire constituency and has resigned as leader.

“This is clearly a setback for liberal values. But there are millions of people across the country who believe in them. By coming together to fight for them, we can create a positive future.” Baroness Brinton said: “In the weeks ahead we will elect a new leader and our party will continue to be the rallying point for anyone who believes in a country where everyone has the chance to get on in life.” Under the party’s constitution, the leader must be an MP so Swinson ceased to be leader when she lost her seat.

The party’s staunchly Remain stance failed to gain traction with the electorate and a number of the party’s leading lights paid a heavy price as they lost their bids to win seats.

The party was projected to win 13 seats. Chuka Umunna, Sarah Wollaston, Luciana Berger and Sam Gyimah were among prominent figures who will not be returning to Westminster, along with Swinson.

DPA

Christine Kellett 7pm: Boris heads back to number 10

Boris Johnson and partner Carrie Symonds have arrived back at number 10 Downing Street after declaring victory.

A clearly delighted Mr Johnson strode to the front door before the couple waved to the waiting media.

In his earlier victory speech, Mr Johnson said the resounding win would “Give us the chance to respect the democratic will of the people” and deliver Brexit by January 31.

The EU’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said the bloc would now have to rebuild its ties with London.

“We now have to rebuild relations with Great Britain which is an important partner,” Mr Breton told French RTL radio, saying the bloc wanted “balanced” trade relations with the UK.

Christine Kellett 6.25pm: We did it!: Johnson

“Well, we did it,” declared Boris Johnson in his victory speech moments ago, heralding “a new dawn on a new day.”

To loud cheers from supporters, Mr Johnson spoke directly to those who voted Conservative for the first time.

“You may not think of yourself as a natural Tory, your hand may have quivered over the ballot paper... and if that is the case, I am humbled that you have put your trust in me and you trust in us. I will never take your support for granted.

“Your voice has been heard.

He also promised Britain would leave the European Union on January 31 as planned, vowing to halt the years of political “squabbling” over Brexit.

“I will put an end to all that nonsense and we will get Brexit done on time by January 31, no ifs, no buts.

“As the nation hands us this historic mandate, we must rise to the exepectations.”

Boris Johnson declares victory.
Boris Johnson declares victory.

6.10pm: Pound soars

The pound has surged more than two per cent on the back of the Conservatives’ resounding election victory that markets believe makes an orderly British exit from the European Union all but certain.

Sterling reached a 19-month high versus the US dollar and its strongest levels against the euro since shortly after the 2016 Brexit referendum. Its jump - as much as 2.5 per cent - versus the dollar put it on course for its biggest one-day gain in nearly three years, a remarkable gain for a currency that has become extremely volatile since the referendum.

Chastened by 3-1/2 years of political instability, investors seized on the expected Conservative landslide, believing it will enable Johnson to deliver Brexit on Jan. 31.

That would end immediate fears about the United Kingdom crashing out of the EU. “Just as Boris Johnson was desperately seeking his majority, this result would give the markets their ultimate wish: clarity,” said Dean Turner, Economist at UBS Wealth Management.

Reuters

Anne Barrowclough 5.45pm: UK wakes up to history

Britain is waking up to a vastly different political landscape, with swatches of seats in Labour’s heartland turning blue as the red wall falls.

Jo Swinson, the new young Lib Dem leader who said she wanted to be PM at the start of this campaign has lost her seat while Labour has been wiped out in Scotland, as the SNP swept the electoral board.

Anne Barrowclough 5.20pm: Trump congratulates Boris

Donald Trump has congratulated Boris Johnson on his “great WIN!”.

“Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT,” he tweeted. “This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris!”

Anne Barrowclough 5.10pm: Labour loses Great Grimsby

The bad news just keeps on coming for Jeremy Corbyn, with the Conservatives taking the northern seat of Great Grimsby from Jeremy Corbyn’s party for the first time since World War II.

5.00pm: Boris hails ‘stonking mandate’

Boris Johnson has declared, in an informal victory speech to Tory aides and supporters, that “no one can now refute” that he has a “stonking mandate” to deliver Brexit.

“No one can possibly dispute that it is the will of the British people to get Brexit done,” he said in an audio recording passed to BuzzFeed News.

Listing the seats that the Tories gained from Labour, Mr Johnson joked “We made Redcar Bluecar.”

He added: “We must understand now what an earthquake we have created. The way in which we have changed the political map in this country.

“We have to grapple with the consequences of that. We have to change our own party. We have to rise to the level of events.

“We have to rise to the challenge that the British people have given us.”

Anne Barrowclough 4.50pm: Morrison congratulates Boris

Scott Morrison has congratulated Boris Johnson on his historic win, saying ‘g’day to the quite Britons’.

Anne Barrowclough 4.45pm: Tory majority ‘78 - 82’

With just a handful of seats left to count, Sky News has projected a Tory majority of between 78- 82; the biggest overall majority since Tony Blair’s 2001 win and the largest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher’s 1987 victory.

Anne Barrowclough 4.40pm: Bad night for Tory rebels

Tory rebels - those who had the whip removed after they voted for a Brexit delay in September (yes, I know that sounds a long time ago) have not had a good night.

All those who defected or stood as independent candidates lost their seats: Former Justice Secretary David Gauke, former attorney general Dominic Grieve, and former health minister Anne Milton, all of whom stood as independents, were defeated, while Sam Gyimah and Antoinette Sandbach, who stood as Lib Dem candidates, also lost.

Greg Clark, Stephen Hammond, Caroline Nokes and Steve Brine, all of whom had the whip restored, were re-elected.

Ticky Fullerton 4.25pm: Three little words deliver victory

Friday the 13th it might have been, but a collective sigh of relief from the financial community could be heard across top floors around the world.

A ho, ho Bo Jo Christmas, with sterling jumping more than 2 per cent against the US dollar when exit polls signalled a thumper election result, and US President Donald Trump’s tweets on an in-principle phase one agreement with China were heralding a Santa rally.

Click here for the full article.

Anne Barrowclough 4.20pm: Labour’s Big Beast falls

Meanwhile, back in the land of Labour misery, one of the party’s big beasts, veteran MP Dennis Skinner has lost his Leave voting seat of Bolsover to the Tories.

Mr Skinner - long nicknamed the Beast of Bolsover - was beaten by Tory candidate Mark Fletcher, bring his 45 year Commons career to a sad end.

Anne Barrowclough 4.00pm: Conservatives win election

The Tories have won the election after passing the 326 mark. Votes are still being counted but currently they are on 337 while Labour is at 198. Boris Johnson had already hailed a “historic” Tory win.

Anne Barrowclough 3.55pm: Trump calls it for Boris

Donald Trump has declared a win for his friend Boris Johnson, tweeting: “Looking like a big win for Boris in the UK!”

Anne Barrowclough 3.45pm: Tories take back Kensington

The Conservatives have taken back Kensington from Labour with a narrow majority. The Tories lost the historically Conservative seat in 2017 but got it back today with a majority of 150.

Anne Barrowclough 3.35pm: Tories head for huge win

With just over 100 seats left to declare, it looks as if the Conservatives are going to enjoy a sweeping victory, as the exit poll predicted. Labour has lost a swathe of seats in the worst result since 1935, while Boris Johnson, who began the year as a backbencher, will almost certainly enjoy the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher’s 1987 win.

Below is Theresa May’s take on Boris’ projected win.

Jason Gagliardi 3.20pm: ‘Corbyn can exit stage left’

Our readers are enjoying the election, with one commentor writing: “Once again, the Western world rejects the backward, negative, regressive punitive, communist left side of politics. What a brilliant victory for the UK and its people.”

Click here for the full article on Readers Comments.

Jacquelin Magnay 3.00pm: Jo Swinson loses seat

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has lost her seat. Picture: AFP.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has lost her seat. Picture: AFP.

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has narrowly lost her East Dunbartonshire seat, defeated by just 149 seats by the Scottish National Party.

Ms Swinson, who had promoted herself as the next prime minister on the back of her party’s Revoke Brexit position, said the election results would bring dread and dismay when people were looking for hope.

However she was dignified in her defeat, congratulating her rival “wholeheartedly” and telling supporters: “I still believe that we as a country can be warm and generous. Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for these values that guide our liberal movement.”

Anne Barrowclough 2.45pm: Boris - We’ve been given a mandate

Boris Johnson's partner Carrie Symonds and their dog Dilyn attend the count in Uxbridge. Picture: Getty Images.
Boris Johnson's partner Carrie Symonds and their dog Dilyn attend the count in Uxbridge. Picture: Getty Images.

An elated Boris Johnson has declared: “Work will begin today’’ as he won his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency, fending off a concerted campaign by students and activists to try and unseat him.

“I don’t want to tempt fate, but lots of results, projections, it looks as though our One Nation Conservative government has given a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done and not just get Brexit done, but unite the country and take it forward,” the Prime Minister said.

”I want to thank people of the country for turning out to vote in a December election that we didn’t want to call but I think it turned out to be an historic election that gives us the chance to respect will of people and change the country for the better and unleash the potential of the entire people of this country. If we are lucky to be returned, that work will begin tomorrow, rather, I should say today’’.

Boris Johnson has held his seat of Uxbridge, fending off Labour rival Ali Milani with a thumping majority of nearly 7000. Mr Milani had been predicted to carve a slice out of Mr Johnson’s majority but in the event, Mr Johnson had nothing to fear.

A beaming Prime Minister told supporters: “It does look as if this Conservative government has been given a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done.”

Jacquelin Magnay 2.30pm: ‘I won’t lead Labour into another poll’

Jeremy Corbyn and his wife Laura Alvarez wait for the declaration of his seat. Picture: AP.
Jeremy Corbyn and his wife Laura Alvarez wait for the declaration of his seat. Picture: AP.

Jeremy Corbyn has held his seat of Islington North but admitted the picture for Labour looks very bleak.

Mr Corbyn insists he will continue to lead the Labour Party in the coming weeks but has indicated he will stand down before the next election.

Agreeing the party has experienced a thumping loss, Mr Corbyn said he would oversee the party’s period of reflection before standing down.

“I will not lead the party in any future election campaign,’’ Mr Corbyn announced. He then added: “I want to ensure a process of reflection on this result and on the policies the party will take going forward, and I will lead the party going forward to ensure that discussion takes place.’’

He said: “This is obviously a very disappointing night for the Labour party, but in the election campaign we put forward a manifesto of hope.’’

He blamed the projected defeat - the biggest since 1935 - on Brexit, saying that Brexit had overridden normal political debate.

Jeremy Corbyn will resign as Labour leader after horror election performance

Caroline Overington 2.27pm: Labour now means inner-city lefties

Jeremy Corbyn, seen here at the count in Islington, is facing a bloodbath. Picture: Getty Images.
Jeremy Corbyn, seen here at the count in Islington, is facing a bloodbath. Picture: Getty Images.

Labour no longer means working class. Labour now means the inner-city lefties, with a tinge of trendy, and a touch of green.

There’s really no other way to read the results coming out of Britain.

The working class has deserted Labour. People who have never in their lives voted anything other than Labour – whose parents, and grandparents only ever voted Labour – have swung conservative.

Click here for the full article.

Jacquelin Magnay 2.25pm: Corbyn’s red wall falls

Boris Johnson’s thumping general election triumph has ripped apart the country’s red wall and realigned the electoral map.

Mr Johnson’s Get Brexit Done message bulldozed through the Labour strongholds in the north east, north Wales and Midlands with a collapse of the vote for Jeremy Corbyn.

Workington - the poster seat and former mining town - has turned blue, as has Darlington, Blyth Valley, Blackpool South and Wrexham.

But it has been the size of the Tory victory in these seats that have been life long Labour that has shocked analysts.

The Tories have even captured Leigh, a Manchester seat, held by Labour for 96 years. Wrexham hasn’t voted in any other party but Labour for 84 years.

The recalibration of Tory support to embrace blue collar working areas will give the new government pause for thought as to how to deliver Brexit, but also address social issues in some of these deprived areas.

Tory support is falling in some London areas and Zac Goldsmith fell victim to the Liberal Democrats in Richmond.

But two high profile MPs, including the foreign secretary Dominic Raab and Iain Duncan Smith retained their seats, although with reduced majorities.

Anne Barrowclough 2.20pm: Blair’s old seat goes blue

Tony Blair’s old seat of Sedgefield has turned blue, in another significant blow for Jeremy Corbyn. The seat, which has been Labour since 1935, was won by Paul Howell with a majority of 4,513. Mr Howell won the seat from Labour’s Phil Wilson, 19,609 to 15,906. It was the worst result for the seat since it was first created.

Anne Barrowclough 2.20pm: Zac Goldsmith defeated

As expected, one of Boris Johnson’s greatest supporters, Zac Goldsmith, has lost his Richmond Park seat to the Lib Dems. Mr Goldsmith lost by nearly 8000 votes. He is so far the only one of the big Conservative scalps to go.

Anne Barrowclough 2.10pm: Sky forecasts big Tory win

With 261 seats declared Sky has now produced its forecast, predicting the Tories will win 358 to 368 seats against Labour with 192 to 202 - a majority of between 66 - 86.

Anne Barrowclough 2.05pm: More heartland seats fall

In more big Labour losses, the Tories have taken Bishop Auckland for the first time in the seat’s 134 history, and have also gained Redcar, Burnley and Stockton South in a huge swing away from Labour - a Tory majority of over 5000. Meanwhile the SNP have taken Midlothian from Labour

Anne Barrowclough 2.00pm: DUP scalp taken in Belfast

DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds reacts after losing his seat as Sinn Fein candidate John Finucane is declared the winner in Belfast. Picture: Getty Images.
DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds reacts after losing his seat as Sinn Fein candidate John Finucane is declared the winner in Belfast. Picture: Getty Images.

A very dramatic result in Belfast North, where the DUP’s Westminster leader Nigel Dodds has just lost his seat to Sinn Fein. Mr Dodds was prominent for the party during Brexit negotiations but appears to have fallen victim to tactics by Sinn Fein and fellow nationalist party SDLP which had been stepping down for each other to maximise the pro Remain vote.

Anne Barrowclough 1.55pm: ‘Anti-semitism made us the nasty party’

Labour MPs are now openly calling for Jeremy Corbyn to go. Ruth Smeeth, who has just lost her Stoke on Trent seat, told Sky the party’s anti-semitism has ‘made us the nasty party,’ and Labour needs to ensure its ‘racist’ culture is ‘destroyed’.

Meanwhile Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley, when asked by Sky if Mr Corbyn should go, admitted: “It would be impossible to say anything other than that.”

Ms Phillips has reportedly been asked by moderate MPs to stand as party leader.

Anne Barrowclough 1.30pm: Campbell warns of Labour ‘oblivion’

Jeremy Corbyn has arrived at the count in Islington, north London. The Labour leader smiled and waved to supporters but looked subdued as he walked inside to muted applause. He refused to answer reporters who asked if he was going to resign.

Meawhile, Tony Blair’s former adviser Alastair Campbell told the BBC the Labour party could face oblivion.

“This is not just a defeat for Jeremy Corbyn, this is defeat for the politics he represents,” he said.

Mr Campbell argued that Northern voters believed they were ignored by Mr Corbyn’s party.

“What people in the North have been saying is that Jeremy Corbyn and his politics does not represent them.

“This delusion that if they just have to keep on with this Corbynism eventually the British public will flock to support it - it is never going to happen.

“Fundamental truths have to be faced otherwise Labour party faces oblivion,” he said.

Jeremy Corbyn arrives for the count. Picture; BBC.
Jeremy Corbyn arrives for the count. Picture; BBC.

Anne Barrowclough 1.20pm: Votes on Brexit lines

This election shows it is being fought along Brexit lines, with the Tories taking another Labour seat. This time it was Blackpool South, a traditionally Labour seat but one which voted overwhelmingly for Brexit.

The Conservatives took the seat 16,247 against Labour’s 12,557 - a majority of 3650.

The Tories also won Clwyd South from Labour.

So far 85 out of 650 seats have been counted.

Jacquelin Magnay 12.50pm: Labour gains Putney

Labour has taken the London seat of Putney, a heavily remain seat, from the Conservatives with a majority of nearly 4000. However the Tories have taken another three Labour seats: Peterborough, Wrexham and the Vale of Clwyd.

Anne Barrowclough 12.30pm: Labour falls again

Labour have lost two more seats, with Rutherglen and Hamilton West going to the Scottish National Party and Darlington falling to the Conservatives. In Darlington, the Tories saw a 4.8 percent rise while Labour’s vote fell by 10.1 percent.

However the party has managed to hold Jarrow, Gateshead, Caerphilly and Makerfield.

Jacquelin Magnay 12.25pm: Workington goes to Tories

A hugely significant blow for Jeremy Corbyn as the Conservatives take the west Cumbrian seat of Workington from Labour, which has held it since 1979.

There were big cheers at the Tory party headquarters when the steel making town was won by Tory candidate Mark Jenkinson, with 20,488 votes against Labour’s 16,312 - a majroity of nearly 4000.

This was the seat that the Tories had initially targeted at the beginning of the campaign, believing ‘Workington Man’ was the type of Brexit Leave voter in Labour heartlands that they had to win over.

While they faced ridiculed that voters would dare to turn away from Labour, the results saw Mr Jenkinson crush Labour’s Sue Hammond by more than 4000 votes.

Greg Sheridan 12.15pm: Solid rejection of Corbyn

BBC TV Centre in London projects the exit poll predictions. Picture: BBC.
BBC TV Centre in London projects the exit poll predictions. Picture: BBC.

Early results and the exit poll look like a thumping victory for Boris Johnson.

It also seems to be an emphatic rejection of Jeremy Corbyn and his far left Labour Party.

The early voting trends have been disastrous for Labour, with socially conservative low income northern and midlands England swinging away from labour.

There also seems to be a swing against Labour in Wales and no recovery for the party at all in Scotland.

Click here for the full article.

David Rogers 12.10pm: Shares jump on poll hopes

The ASX and the Nikkei have jumped on the exit poll’s prediction. Australia’s sharemarket rose 0.5pc to 6751.3 in early trading, while the Nikkei 225 rallied 1.87 percent or 437.99 points to 23,862.80 in early trade

Read Trading Day here.

Jacquelin Magnay 11.50am: ‘Corbyn must go’

Former Labour foreign secretary Alan Johnson was scathing in how grassroots Momentum activists had taken over the Labour Party. On ITV, Mr Johnson ripped into the far left policies of the party, saying: “It’s Corbyn, the Corbynistas will make an argument that that victory is a bourgeois concept that the only goal for true socialists is glorious bloody defeat. And now we have had another one. There will be conspiracies theories thrown about, but it’s Corbyn. We knew that in parliament, we knew that he was incapable of leading, we knew he was worse than useless at all the qualities you need to lead a party.’’

He added Labour needed to have an internal cleaning out.

“Corbyn was a disaster on the doorstep, everyone knew he couldn’t lead the party out of a paper bag.. the culture of betrayal goes on, I want Momentum out of the party , go back to student politics and little left wing.. this the most disastrous result for labour, since 1935. John and his pals will never admit this, they missed up with this experiment experiment of back to the future.”

Jacquelin Magnay 11.45am: How the Oz saw Wales

As the exit poll predicts some upheaval in the northern Welsh seats, this is what The Australian published a month ago about the importance of the area:

On election night December 12, eyes will turn to five Welsh seats in the north: traditional Labour heartlands which want to leave the European Union.

Which makes Welsh electorates like Wrexham, Clyde South, Alyn and Deeside, Delyn, Vale of Clywd and Ynys Mon highly significant.

Professor Roger Awan-Scully from the University of Cardiff says this is the path for a Conservative victory, yet “no one here can remember a time when anyone other than Labour has won in Wales’’.

He said: ’’The last time anyone but Labour won in Wales was in December 1918 when Lloyd George (of the Coalition Liberal party) won. He had just been victorious in WWI and his political capital was high. Labour then finished first in all 26 elections in a row since 1922.’’

The Conservatives history in Wales as a whole is even worse: it last won Wales two years before Abraham Lincoln won the presidency of the United States in 1859.

Professor Awan-Scully said if the national swings are projected onto the result of the last general election, Labour could lose ten seats, the Tories could pick up nine and the Liberal Democrats could also win a seat.

“Any such result in Wales represents an electoral earthquake,’’ he said, cautioning that volatility was high and voter intentions could change in the next few weeks.

But he stressed: ’’One place that doesn’t get much attention, nor-east wales, it is not the most glamorous part of UK, but there are a clutch of five labour seats, none of which have huge margins and they could go to the Tories on swings of between 2.6 to 5.9 percent. ‘’

Professor Awan-Scully said this handful of seats, all of which adjoin each other near the border with England, will be crucial.

‘’If Labour defend all of those, Boris Johnson will be an ex-prime minister. If the Conservatives win all of them the Tories will win with a majority,’’ he said.

These Welsh voters are socially conservatism and their economic pragmatism rails against Mr Corbyn’s Marxist extremes including his high tax, big spending plans.

In the 2017 general election a late Labour surge in Wales saw them win 28 seats, while the Tories lost three seats and now have 8 seats. Plaid Cymru, which has battled to get the same independence support of the Scottish Nationalists has 4 seats, and the Liberal Democrats were wiped out.

“Now we have Labour and the Tories neck and neck each with just under 30 percent support,’’ said Professor Awan-Scully.

“For Labour this is a decline of 20 percent points. The Tories not are surging but they are declining much less rapidly, and we see Plaid Cymru picking up a bit and the Liberal Democrats picking up a lot.’’

11.45am: What Boris win means for Brexit

So what will happen if, as predicted, Boris Johnson emjoys a sweeping victory? This is what The Times wrote earlier this week.

Boris Johnson would be – for the time being at least – the master of all he surveyed at Westminster. The re-elected prime minister would easily be able to pass the EU Withdrawal Agreement and fulfil his election pledge to get Brexit done by the end of next month.

With such a sizeable lead and many new Tory MPs owing their loyalty to him, Mr Johnson would also be free to push through whatever kind of future relationship he negotiated with the EU.

Sped-Up Video Shows Votes Being Counted After Polls Close in UK Election

Some think this would be a bare bones trade agreement that would mean the UK pivoting its economy towards America and Asia, with significant disruption to industries that rely on close trading links with Europe.

However, others suspect that Mr Johnson, freed from electoral constraints, would opt for a much closer trading relationship with the EU, not that dissimilar from the one envisaged by his predecessor, Theresa May. With a large majority Mr Johnson would have the power to choose.

A larger majority might also embolden him to embark on a more radical policy agenda than that set out in the Conservative manifesto. He could attempt to tackle the crisis in social care and pursue a constitutional reform program to restrict parliament’s power over the executive. Such proposals, which would be controversial, would be possible only if he has enough “spare” MPs to ignore opposition from some of his backbenchers.

11.35am: Tories majority increases

More results are in, showing the Tories holding Swindon North, increasing their majority by over 16000. The Conservatives took their safe seat with 32,584 votes against Labour’s 16,413.

Anne Barrowclough 11.25am: Poll guru: we predicted Blyth upset

Sir John Curtice, the psephologist leading the team behind the official exit poll, has warned against too much complacency. While Sir John said the poll had predicted a Tory win in Blyth

and the drop in Labour support in Sunderland South, he reminded the BBC that so far the votes have been counted in Leave seats.

“Do not be surprised, particularly when we get further south and we get to much more pro-remain constituencies, that we do not see spectacular advances by the Conservatives.

But in the north of England, in leave areas, in working-class seats, the Labour party does seem to be in serious trouble,” he said.

He also said the pollsters were “least confident” about results in Scotland as there were so few sampling points north of the border.

Anne Barrowclough 11.05am: Labour majority slashed again

Another blow for Labour in Sunderland Central where they have again seen their majority in a safe seat much reduced.

Labour held the seat, which voted Leave in 2016, by just 18,336 vs the Tories’ 15,372, a majority of 2,964 compared with their majority of 9,997 in the last election.

In Newcastle East, Labour won comfortably, with 26049 vs the Conservatives’ 10,586.

Jacquelin Magnay 10.55am: Seismic shock

The seismic shock of Blyth Valley turning blue cannot be underestimated. This is an old mining constituency that loathes the Tories - until now. Expressing some shock, Ian Levy beat Labour’s Susan Dungworth 17,440 votes to 16,728, and immediately after the announcement he thanked Boris Johnson.

“I want to thank Boris because I am going to be on that train, I am going to London, going to get Brexit done and build a strong economy UK and do that together.’’

Jacquelin Magnay 10.33am: Tories gain Blyth Valley

The Tories have won the mining constituency of Blyth Valley off Labour for the first time since the seat was created in 1950, in the first major shock of the election. The Conservatives’ Ian Levy won the seat 17440 against Labour’s 16728, a majority of 712 and a significant blow for Jeremy Corbyn.

Former Speaker John Bercow has declared the result both in Blyth Valley and in Sunderland, where Labour’s majority was cut, as “catastrophic” for Labour.

John Bercow says the early results are “catastrophic” for Labour. Picture: Getty Images.
John Bercow says the early results are “catastrophic” for Labour. Picture: Getty Images.

Anne Barrowclough 10.30am: First disappointment for Labour

The first result, in the Labour seats of Newcastle upon Tyne central and Houghton and Sunderland South, give Labour a predicted win - but with a much slimmer majority. In Newcastle, which voted to Remain in 2016, the result was Labour’s 21568 against the Conservatives’ 9290 while in the Leave seat of Sunderland, Labour’s majority saw a big cut. with a win of just 16210 against the Tories’ 13095.

Anne Barrowclough 10.18pm: Labour MPs blame Corbyn

Labour candidates are busy blaming leader Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s predicted defeat. While frontbenchers such as Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell claim it was Brexit wot dunnit, MPs were quick to refute his claim.

Veteran MP and former frontbencher Margaret Hodge tweeted: “Deliberately misreading the exit poll from McDonnell. If this bears out, this is the utter failure of Corbyn & Corbynism. There is no other way of looking at it.”

Siobhain McDonagh, the candidate for Morden, said: “this is one mans fault. His campaign, his manifesto, his leadership. Jeremy Corbyn.”

Jacquelin Magnay 10.00am: Can this man cut into Boris’ majority?

Ali Milani is considerably less well known than Jeremy Corbyn, but Boris Johnson is hoping the exit poll prediction of a landslide Conservative win brings about a similar result in his own constituency.

Ali Milani, the British Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, is hoping to cut into Boris Johnson’s majority.
Ali Milani, the British Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, is hoping to cut into Boris Johnson’s majority.

Mr Milani is the 25-year-old controversial far-left Labour candidate standing against Mr Johnson in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

He is everything Mr Johnson is not; and is ideologically allied to the far left extremism of Mr Corbyn and John McDonnell.

Mr Milani was selected as the Labour candidate in this election despite some of the most serious charges: that he sent a flurry of anti-semitic tweets and was a 9/11 denier.

But he is Muslim, young, a migrant, and earned the party stripes through his presidency of the Brunel University Student’s Union, then as an elected executive in the National Union of Students and then as a Heathrow Villages councillor in the Hillingdon local council area held by Mr McDonnell.

Mr Milani has spent the past few weeks stressing to the Uxbridge voters his intimate knowledge of the area’s issues, coupled with a huge push by various student groups to ‘’decapitate’’ Mr Johnson as sitting MP.

On the hustings during this election campaign Mr Milani rallied his team of Momentum activists, telling them there was more than ‘’poetic justice’’ to unseat Johnson ‘’by a local, working class, immigrant Muslim’’.

He came to the area from Tehran as a five year old with his sister and mother and lived in local council housing in nearby Wembley. His father still lives in Iran.

Mr Milani has repeatedly attacked Mr Johnson for being an absent local MP. He also insisted his family had to choose between lunch or to pay to use the tube to get to school and had no money for gas in winter - even though this would refer also to a time when the Gordon Brown Labour government was in government. He has fiercely rallied against tuition fees and austerity.

Anne Barrowclough 9.30am: ‘Greatest democracy in the world’

Boris Johnson has just tweeted his thanks to Conservative volunteers, with a picture of supporters holding a sign saying: “We love Boris.”

In Downing St, the mood is cautiously optimistic.

Jacquelin Magnay 9.25am: ‘Let’s not get too excited yet’

Tory chairman James Cleverly has been cautious about getting “too excited” about the exit poll, saying: “I am cautious of poll results, so see how seats roll out before getting too excited about it.’’

“t is big if the numbers play out; it is numerically a big majority, but we want to see if it plays out and which constituencies have voted our way’’.

He said there was fury at the doorsteps towards Labour and Jeremy Corbyn because they ‘’felt they were lied to’’ about Brexit.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, said: “We will not hang around’’ in delivering Brexit and will immediately introduce legislation bills before parliament.

If the prediction is confirmed by the counts, Labour will have returned its worst electoral performance in eight decades.

Barry Gardiner, Labour’s shadow secretary for state said if the exit poll is correct” “It is a devastating result for us’’.

He added: “It’s a deeply depressing prediction and one that my heart goes out to all the people who have given hope to the Labour party, relying on us to sort out problems they are facing’’.

9.15am: Sterling surges

The pound has already seen a rise in the wake of the exit poll, surging 2 per cent

Jacquelin Magnay 9.00am: Exit poll predicts Tory win

Britain is headed for an emphatic Boris Johnson-led Conservative majority of 86, the official exit poll has predicted.

In a bombshell prediction - if the exit poll reflects the actual voting count - there will be an immediate end to the Brexit paralysis with Mr Johnson set to ensure the UK leaves the EU by January 31.

The exit poll says the Tories will hold a big majority of 368 seats with voters scared off by Jeremy Corbyn’s big taxing nationalisation plans and the Labour Party attracting just 191 seats. It would be the worst performance for Labour since WWII.

The prediction will settle nerves at Tory headquarters after a Remainer “youthquake’’ of voters created long voting lines at polling stations amid fears they could derail attempts to leave the EU.

According to the poll, the Scottish Nationalists are set to sweep Scotland with 55 seats and the Liberal Democrat vote has stagnated with 13 seats, according to the poll. The concern about splitting the vote among Brexit supporters has led to the Brexit Party failing to win a seat, as the support has swung behind the Tories instead.

The Green party might pick up one seat.

The exit poll shows a major win for Boris Johnson.
The exit poll shows a major win for Boris Johnson.

Greg Sheridan 8.40am: Brexit boom or communist bust?

If the UK’s 46 million voters confirm Boris Johnson as Prime Minister with a parliamentary majority for the Conservative Party, Britain leaves the EU, irrevocably, by the end of January.

It will be a seismic moment in British history, a devastating blow to the EU itself and the culmination of a long, tortuous struggle in British politics.

Boris Johnson and his dog Dilyn. Picture: Getty Images.
Boris Johnson and his dog Dilyn. Picture: Getty Images.
Jeremy Corbyn represents communism in a cardigan. Picture: Getty Images.
Jeremy Corbyn represents communism in a cardigan. Picture: Getty Images.

The future will be full of uncertainty, of both promise and challenge, but the future will be born at last, replacing the grey netherworld, the indeterminate Hades, of the past three years.

If on the other hand the British voters, in their wisdom, put Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street, the nation will embark on the most radical program of socialism, identity politics and anti-Western reorientation in security policy in its modern history.

There has never been a leader like Corbyn, who offers Britain communism in a cardigan.

Click here for the full article.

Anne Barrowclough 8.30am: First ballot snafu

The first mistake at a polling station has already been acknowledged in Liverpool, where 48 people were given the wrong ballot papers. Ballot papers for Wavertree constituency were mistakenly issued to Riverside residents, reports the BBC.

Liverpool City Co7uncil said it was trying to contact those involved to give them the opportunity to vote again. Meanwhile, the incorrect votes will be discounted and a review has been ordered.

Jacquelin Magnay 8.05am: High turnout may realign country

Britons will get a real sense of the country’s immediate future in the next hour when the polls close and the exit poll is released.

The big questions that voters have faced in what has been billed an election of a generation will be answered: will the country lurch to the left in a Jeremy Corbyn’s radical revolution of socialism and renationalisation or will Brexit finally happen under a Boris Johnson government?

The third option, a hung parliament is almost too awful to contemplate with continued paralysis that dogged Westminster for nearly two years. However, it is still a possible outcome.

The high turnout of the 46 million registered voters has sharpened expectations of a political re-alignment of the country, where the Tories are scuppered in London but begin to make inroads into the “red wall’’ of traditional Labour support in the north-east and across the Midlands.

The big question is whether the anticipated Tory losses in urban areas will be offset by enough gains elsewhere in the country.

Analysts have predicted that 40,000 votes in just 36 seats would be crucial and the turnout, as well as tactical voting, will be key to who gets the key to 10 Downing Street.

The BBC’s exit poll has a reputation of being unerringlty accurate: it predicted four of the last five election results, and will give the nation a flavour of what is in store as the 650 seats are counted.

7.40am: ‘Crude campaign of disinformation’

Just 48 hours before today’s election in Britain, a photograph of a sick child lying on a hospital floor in northern England went viral and dominated the media.

The opposition Labour party and left-wing press said the picture demonstrated the damage done by Conservative-led austerity and mismanagement of the National Health Service (NHS), a major campaign issue.

Despite the hospital apologising to the family, thousands of social media messages — including one copied and pasted hundreds of times in a few hours — alleged the image was staged.

“I was amazed by how a crude campaign of disinformation (such as copy and paste) can so quickly take hold in a febrile environment,” Marc Owen Jones, an assistant professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha who tracks disinformation online, said.

The opposition had previously accused the ruling Conservative party of throwing “low blows”.

On the day the Labour manifesto was published, the Conservatives launched a website using the “labourmanifesto.co.uk” domain name.

A “labour manifesto” query on a search engine took web users directly to the site.

“Here’s everything you need to know about Labour’s Manifesto — https://labourmanifesto.co.uk”, the Conservatives tweeted 30 minutes before Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn presented it.

Visitors to the site were met with the words “No plan for Brexit, Higher taxes, Two more referendums,” in capital letters, next to a picture of Corbyn.

The Conservatives were also accused of creating a website in the name of a Labour candidate from central England calling on voters to “STOP Jeremy Corbyn”.

AFP

7.10am: A Brexit solution, one way or the other

At a fish market in the eastern England port of Grimsby, seafood company owner Nathan Godley summed up the hopes of many that — one way or another — today’s UK election would provide a pathway to a resolution of Brexit.

“I think we all got a bit weary of the politicians over the last few years really, and I think having a government with a majority to give them the clout to actually do what they want is a good thing,” he said.

Boris Johnson voted near the prime minister’s Downing Street residence in London, accompanied by his dog, Dilyn. Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn was greeted by supporters and an activist dressed as Elmo from “Sesame Street"as he arrived to vote in his north London constituency.

The two parties are offering voters starkly different visions of the future. Johnson campaigned relentlessly on a promise to “Get Brexit done” — and promised a modest increase in public spending — while Labour vowed to tax the rich, nationalize industries such as railroads and water companies and give everyone in the country free internet access.

On Brexit, Labour says it will negotiate a new divorce deal with the EU and then offer voters the choice of leaving the 28-nation bloc on those terms or remaining.

AP

6.45am: Colourful locations called into action

Some citizens in the English city of Oxford could have been forgiven for bringing their dirty laundry with them when they went to their polling station to cast their vote in Britain’s first December general election in nearly a century.

That’s because the Ace Laundrette was pressed into service as a polling station in the early election called by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a bid to break the country’s Brexit stalemate.

Cast your vote ... and do your washing while you’re at it at the Ace Laundrette in Oxford. Picture: AP
Cast your vote ... and do your washing while you’re at it at the Ace Laundrette in Oxford. Picture: AP

Most British elections take place in the spring. There were plenty of odd polling locations today throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In the town of Hampshire, people exercising their democratic privilege could also have checked out automobiles for sale at the Petersfield Used Car Centre. And in the West Midlands town of Dudley, a rather bare converted shipping container was designated as a voting booth.

A Christmas tree stands in the window of Petersfield Used Car Centre in Hampshire, which is being used as a polling station in the British general election. Picture: AP
A Christmas tree stands in the window of Petersfield Used Car Centre in Hampshire, which is being used as a polling station in the British general election. Picture: AP

More fun was to be had in the picturesque pubs used as voting centers in the countryside. The election also had more traditional polling locations, such as town halls and churches.

Given the time of year, voters couldn’t escape Christmas. In the southwest England town of Minehead, a Santa’s grotto was used for voting.

AP

Jacquelin Magnay 5.45am: Brits head to the polls

Long queues have formed outside British polling stations for most of the day as turnout for the first December election in nearly 100 years provokes claims of an electoral “youthquake”.

Voters queue outside a polling station in Clapham, London. Picture: Kelly Molloy/AP
Voters queue outside a polling station in Clapham, London. Picture: Kelly Molloy/AP

Some constituencies have had to call in extra staff as voters have queued around the block in miserable rain. The anticipated high turnout — not seen since the 1950s — could spell a nervous time for the prime minister Boris Johnson, not just for the Conservative party, but for his own seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, which had been targeted by student activists in the electorate’s Brunel University.

Across social media British voters have been reminded that if they are in the queue to vote at 10pm local time (9am AEDT) they can still legally cast their vote.

Voters have confounded some analysts who believed the cold and rainy weather and being so close to Christmas would dent the turnout. Voting is not compulsory in the UK.

The Conservatives have sent out an email to their supporters with a red siren in the subject field saying “Labour turnout is high”. Labour has emailed an appeal from its leader Jeremy Corbyn saying: “Good afternoon, I’ve been campaigning all day and the response has been amazing. This election will be close, but it’s incredible to see how our people-powered strategy is paying off.”

Before the knife-edge polls opened there were warnings from Mr Johnson that the result could be too close to call.

Jacquelin Magnay 5am: Key times (AEDT) on UK Election day

• 9am AEDT — Polls in the British election close and within minutes, an exit poll will be released. This exit poll, unlike the polling company predictions of the past few weeks, is usually reliable and gives a very strong indication as to how the major parties will fare.

• 10am — Labour held seats in North East England begin to declare. Houghton and Sunderland South, a Labour Brexit seat, and Newcastle Upon Tyne Central, a Labour Leaver seat, will be among the first results, giving a sense of how solid Labour supporters may have switched their voting patterns to back Brexit.

• 11am — Other strong Labour sets in North East of England declare. If there is any fall in support for Jeremy Corbyn here, he will be in big trouble nationally.

Jeremy Corbyn 'will destroy that country'

• Noon — Northern Ireland results start to come through, with North Down a three-way tussle between the Democratic Unionist Party, the Ulster unionists and the Alliance. Around this time a marginal Labour seat, Workington, will be known. Any big increase for Labour here will pose a headache for the Tories, as they had originally believed this to be one that might change hands.

• 12.30pm — Marginal seats start to declare including the Tory target of Darlington, which had a Labour majority of 3280. But Labour was looking to eat into the Tory seat of Nuneaton in the West Midlands which was held with a 4739 majority.

A Nigel Dodds DUP election poster is seen near a polling station in north Belfast. Picture: Getty Images
A Nigel Dodds DUP election poster is seen near a polling station in north Belfast. Picture: Getty Images

• 1pm — Some London seats start to come through and the big voting queues would indicate that the Liberal Democrats and Labour could be in for a good night in the capital. The knife-edge seats of Putney, which Conservatives will battle to hold, and Labour Remain seat of Battersea will also give an indication to voter preferences. Scottish results will also start to emerge and Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson will discover if she has fended off the Scottish Nationalists in East Dunbartonshire. If the Brexit Party is to have any impact it will come when Hartlepool is announced, but look for the Brexit and Tory parties splitting the vote. Around now, the Northern Wales seats will be announced and the Tories are hopeful of creating history to pick up two or three seats. These important bellwether areas include Wrexham, Clyde South, Alyn and Deeside, Delyn, Vale of Clywd and Ynys Mon. The Conservatives last won in Wales two years before Abraham Lincoln won the presidency of the United States in 1859.

Protesters Dressed as Bees Swarm Jo Swinson's Campaign Bus

• 1.30pm — This will be when the Scottish Nationalist Party and the Torys match up in Angus.

• 2pm — Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn should win handsomely in Islington North, unlike the Tory foreign secretary Dominic Raab who faces a tight challenge by the Liberal Democrats to retain his seat in Esher and Walton. In Chingford and Woodford Green, Iain Duncan Smith is similarly challenge by Labour. Seats featuring some ex-Tory MPs will start to declare such as Beaconsfield where the ex-Attorney-General and arch-Remainer Dominic Grieve is standing as an independent. The former Labour MP Chuka Umunna is standing as a Change UK candidate in the Cities of London and Westminster and will know the result around now. A Tory target Great Grimsby, held by Labour without interruption since Winston Churchill’s defeat in the 1945 election will be declared as will Sedgefield, once held by the Labour prime minister Tony Blair.

Brexit secretary Dominic Raab is under pressure to hold his seat of Esher and Walton. Picture: AFP
Brexit secretary Dominic Raab is under pressure to hold his seat of Esher and Walton. Picture: AFP

• 3pm — High profile marginal seats will be declared such as the Labour targets of Harrow East, Loughborough and Milton Keynes South. The Tories are hopeful in Wakefield and the Liberal Democrats will have a good night if they have picked up St Albans and Cheltenham. But all eyes will be on the three way tussle of Kensington, currently held by Labour with a margin of just 20. This is the time the Prime minister Boris Johnson’s seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip will be declared, with the Tories hopeful that the Brexit issue will override Labour opponent Ali Milani’s strong local ties. By now it should be clear if there will be a majority government, or if the result is too close to call, which could bring about days of negotiations between various parties to form a government.

More Coverage

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Ticky Fullerton
Jeremy Corbyn will resign as Labour leader after horror election performance
Read related topics:Boris JohnsonBrexit

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/2019-uk-election-live-coverage-of-brexit-showdown-between-boris-johnson-jeremy-corbyn/news-story/1342cafeb3bccac5e62f980a64e90067