General election 2019: latest results, headline news - and what it all means

Chris Graham
,
The Telegraph•December 13, 2019
GE
Boris Johnson is headed for a landslide General Election victory, paving the way for the Prime Minister to easily drive through his Brexit deal and take the UK out of the European Union next month.
The Tories snatched seat after seat in Labour heartlands as the PM's 'get Brexit done' election message hit home with working class Leave voters.
A BBC/Sky/ITV exit poll put the Tories on 368 seats and was borne out by early results as support for Labour slumped in its Brexit-voting heartlands.
The exit poll predicted Labour would win just 191 seats, the Scottish National Party 55, Liberal Democrats 13, the Brexit Party none, Plaid Cymru three and Greens one.
This would give Mr Johnson a majority of 86.
The pound soared against the dollar and the euro as the exit poll emerged.
One of the first actual results to come through supported the exit poll prediction as the Conservatives won Blyth Valley with a 10% swing from Labour - a seat they had held since 1950.
The first big Labour scalp claimed by the Tories was shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman, who lost Workington on another 10% swing.
The typically working class 'Workington Man' voter was identified as a key target by a right wing think tank at the start of the election campaign.
The Tories also took Darlington from Labour.
Headline news
Labour in shock at "extremely disappointing" night
Labour was seeking to blame Brexit for the catastrophic electoral defeat predicted by the exit poll that has estimated a huge majority for the Conservatives.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell was visibly shocked by the predicted figures suggesting Labour was on course for its second General Election defeat under Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr McDonnell sought to blame a public discourse in which "Brexit has dominated", defended the left-wing policies adopted by him and Mr Corbyn, and said "appropriate decisions" will be made about the future of the leadership.
If the actual result resembles the prediction, Labour will lose 52 seats, putting it on course for its worst result in terms of seats since 1935.
Mr Corbyn will now be under overwhelming pressure to resign. Ahead of the election, Labour sources had been predicting he would only go if Boris Johnson won a majority.
But they indicated Mr Corbyn would not resign immediately if he had no chance of becoming PM and would likely stay on into the new year while a leadership election is battled.

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Shortly after the poll was released, Mr McDonnell told the BBC he was shocked by the prediction, having though the polls were narrowing.
"If it is anywhere near this it will be extremely disappointing for the party overall and for our movement," he said. "I think Brexit has dominated, it has dominated everything by the looks of it.
"We thought other issues could cut through and there would be a wider debate, from this evidence there clearly wasn't."
Asked about his and Mr Corbyn's future, he said: "Let's see the results themselves, as I say, the appropriate decisions will be made and we'll always make the decisions in the best interests of our party."
SNP on course for landslide, poll suggests
The SNP could be set for a second landslide at Westminster, the exit poll predicted, bolstering Nicola Sturgeon's demand for a referendum on independence.
The joint Sky/BBC/ITV poll indicated the party could win 55 seats north of the border, meaning the SNP would continue to be the third largest party in the Commons, with 55 MPs, the poll predicted, while Jo Swinson's Liberal democrats would have 13.
In the first result of the night, the SNP's Margaret Ferrier won Rutherglen and Hamilton West, taking the seat with a majority of 5,230. Labour's Ged Killen had been defending a majority of only 265.
Ms Sturgeon said while the exit poll "suggests a good night" for the SNP, she added that "what it indicates UK wide though is grim".

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If the SNP was to win 55 of the 59 Scottish seats up for grabs, it would be the party's second best ever result - and only one fewer MP than they secured in 2015, when they won all but three seats north of the border.
It would also be an increase of 20 on the 35 MPs that Ms Sturgeon's party returned in 2017.
The poll suggests both Labour and the Scottish Conservatives could be in for losses north of the border, with the Tories having won 13 seats two years ago, while Mr Corbyn's Labour secured seven Scottish MPs last time round.
It comes at the end of an election campaign which had focused heavily on the key constitutional issues of Brexit and a second Scottish independence referendum.
The stark contrast with the predicted result in England would also be expected to place huge strain on the Union.
But Michael Gove, who was raised in Aberdeen, told ITV he did not believe a second independence referendum "would be right" for Scotland for the UK.
He said he did not think another separation vote was "inevitable, quite the opposite."
Latest results
175 out of 650 seats declared
Latest results
The The BBC/Sky/ITV poll.
The exit poll
What it all means
If the exit poll is correct, the Red Wall has well and truly collapsed
Janet Daley writes:
What this must mean is that the Red Wall has well and truly collapsed. Labour has lost its birthright to the working class vote.
But the size of the majority must also mean that many, many Remainers did the gracious thing and admitted that in a democracy, the minority must honour the will of the majority.
They chose the fair and proper path. To them, we must give proper respect and thanks. We will only know later how the demographics worked.
Read the full article.
If the Labour Party is to survive this devastating verdict, Jeremy Corbyn must resign tonight
Tom Harris writes:
Corbyn and Corbynism have been rejected. Those who believed that Labour could return to power on a platform of radical socialism, advised by individuals who regret the passing of the Soviet dictatorship, have been proved finally, fatally wrong.
Corbyn has had two more shots at the top than he deserved. If his party is to have any chance of recovery, he must resign. And quickly.
Read the full article.
A majority would be a victory for everyone slandered by the far-Left
Tim Stanley writes:
"This is a vindication for Boris Johnson. Again, he is not the man the Left says he is. He is perfectly moderate and really quite popular - as footage from the campaign trail almost consistently showed. He had a great campaign, displaying the discipline he allegedly lacked, and even when it wrong it was oddly wonderful (hiding in a fridge: love it).
"Never has the gulf between London opinion and the rest of the country been so stark. I'm not claiming BoJo is our Churchill or is universally loved. But what he's not is universally hated just because Channel 4 doesn't care for him. He has rescued his party from Theresa May and - this is the big thing - maybe saved Brexit."
Read the full article here.
What happens next?
If Mr Johnson does indeed get his big majority, the Government will move quickly to "get Brexit done", Home Secretary Priti Patel said on Thursday night.
She said: "Importantly, as we have outlined throughout this entire campaign, the focus has been on Brexit.
"You know, we've had gridlock in Parliament, we want to get Brexit done, we have heard the prime minister say this. Get it done before Christmas, introduce the legislation and get that moving in parliament."
On Friday, Mr Johnson will likely visit Buckingham Palace where the Queen will invite him to form a new government.
The PM would then make a speech outside Number 10, and could begin a cabinet reshuffle - which may last over the weekend, or be done in a day as it was when he took over from Theresa May.
On Tuesday, MPs will return to Westminster and begin the process of swearing in, where they take an oath of allegiance.
The Conservatives have pledged to re-introduce Mr Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement Bill (Wab), in December as an "early Christmas present" for voters. This could mean MPs sitting next Friday in order for the Bill to be introduced at first reading.