Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives are on course to win a large majority in Thursday's U.K elections after voters backed his bid to deliver Brexit on January 31. Mr. Johnson's party is set to win comfortably in the 650-seat parliament in what could be the biggest Conservative national election win since Margaret Thatcher's 1987 triumph.
The Conservatives claimed a string of Leave-supporting seats from Labour in the opposition party's heartlands of Wales and northern England, results showed.
Here are the live updates
We will leave EU on Jan. 31, no ifs, no buts, says Johnson
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would leave the European Union on Jan. 31 after his sweeping election win.
“We will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes,” Mr. Johnson told cheering supporters on Friday.
Britain needs Brexit parliament vote soon: EU
The European Union hopes for a quick British parliament vote on Britain's withdrawal from the bloc and clarity on London's plans following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's triumph in elections, the head of the European Council said on Friday.
Charles Michel, who chairs EU summits, congratulated Johnson and also said the EU was ready to negotiate a free-trade agreement with Britain but called on London to work in good faith.
“We expect, as soon as possible, a the vote by the British Parliament ... It's important to have clarity, as soon as possible,” Mr. Michel told reporters as he arrived for a second day of an EU leaders summit. “We are ready,” he said of trade talks.
UK Liberal Democrats to elect new leader after Swinson loses
Britain's Liberal Democrats said they would elect a new leader next year after Jo Swinson lost her seat in parliament at Thursday's general election.
“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,” party president Sal Brinton said in a statement.
The party said Brinton and lawmaker Ed Davey would be joint acting leaders.
Trump congratulates Boris Johnson
US President Donald Trump on Friday congratulated UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his election victory, saying their two countries were now free to strike a “massive” new trade deal.
“Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great WIN!”, Mr Trump tweeted.
“Britain and the United States will now be free 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!”
Veteran UK Labour lawmaker Dennis Skinner loses
Veteran Labour lawmaker Dennis Skinner lost the seat he had held since 1970 on Friday, as another brick in the “Red Wall” of traditional Labour support fell to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives and their pledge to deliver Brexit.
The 87-year-old, who was the party's longest continuously serving lawmaker, was defeated by Conservative Mark Fletcher, who overturned his 5,288 majority to win Bolsover with 21,791 votes against Skinner's 16,492.
A powerful mandate to get Brexit done, says Johnson
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that his government appeared to have won a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done.
“At this stage it does look as though this one-nation Conservative government has been given a powerful new mandate, to get Brexit done and not just to get Brexit done but to unite this country and to take it forward,” Mr. Johnson said after winning his seat of Uxbridge.
“I think this will turn out to be a historic election that gives us now, in this new government, the chance to respect the democratic will of the British people, to change this country for the better and to unleash the potential of the entire people of this country.”
“That is what we will now do, and if we are lucky enough to be returned as the exit poll seems to suggest then that work will begin ... today.”
EU welcomes Brexit clarity from UK Conservative victory
European leaders welcomed on Thursday that Boris Johnson's expected election victory provided clarity on Britain's withdrawal from the EU, but said it would be challenging to agree a post-Brexit trade deal by the end of 2020.
Exit polls showed Johnson's Conservative Party would enjoy a majority of 86 seats in the 650-seat British parliament.
“It is a very clear result - it will not change by tomorrow morning,” Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told reporters in Brussels after the first day of an EU summit.
Sterling Pound surges by more than 2%
The British pound surged more than 2% on Thursday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party looked set for a decisive election victory that markets believe makes an orderly exit from the European Union all but certain.
Sterling’s dramatic gains saw it reach a 19-month high versus the dollar and its strongest levels against the euro since shortly after the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Its jump — as much as 2.5% — versus the dollar put it on course for one of its biggest one-day gains since the 1990s.
Chastened by 3-1/2 years of political instability in Britain, investors have seized on the likely Conservative landslide, believing it will enable Johnson to deliver Brexit with his withdrawal agreement on Jan. 31.
UK Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson loses seat
Britain’s Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson speaks after losing her seat, north of Glasgow on December 13, 2019.
The leader of Britain's pro-European Union Liberal Democrats lost her parliamentary seat to the Scottish National Party on Friday.
Jo Swinson, who only became the party's leader in July, had campaigned to overturn Britain's 2016 vote to leave the EU. She lost the seat by just 149 votes.
Ms. Swinson said “For millions of people in our country these results will bring dread and dismay and people are looking for hope. I still believe that we as a country can be warm and generous, inclusive and open, and that by working together with our nearest neighbours we can achieve so much more.”
Corbyn says will not lead Labour into future UK election
Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would not lead the party into the next election after admitting it had been a “very disappointing night”.
“This is obviously a very disappointing night for the Labour Party with the result that we've got,” Mr. Corbyn said after winning his north London electoral seat.
“I will not lead the party in any future general election campaign,” he said, adding that the party needed to reflect and that he would lead the party as it discussed its future.
Scotland must be given new independence vote, says Sturgeon
Scotland must be allowed to hold another referendum on its place inside the United Kingdom following the crushing victory of the nationalists in the election, leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday.
The exit poll predicted that the Scottish National Party would win 55 of the 59 seats in Scotland.
“There is a mandate now to offer the people of Scotland the choice over our own future,” Sturgeon told Sky News.
“There is a clear desire and endorsement for the notion that Scotland should not be landed with a Boris Johnson government and ripped out of Europe against our own will.
“Boris Johnson may have a mandate to take England out of the European Union. He emphatically does not have a mandate to take Scotland out of the European Union. Scotland must have a choice over our own future.”
Exit poll forecasts a landslide for Conservatives
U.K. General Election 2019 exit poll suggests Boris Johnson’s Conservatives likely to win majority of seats in Parliament.
The survey predicts the Conservatives will get 368 of the 650 House of Commons seats and the Labour Party 191. It projects 55 for the Scottish National Party and 13 for the Liberal Democrats. Based on interviews with voters leaving 144 polling stations across the country, the poll is conducted for a consortium of U.K. broadcasters and regarded as a reliable, though not exact, indicator of the likely result.
Boris seeks Brexit win as U.K. votes on Dec. 12
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks on course to win Thursday’s election though the race has tightened markedly and he can no longer be sure of a majority, according to opinion polls published on the eve of the vote.
The December 12 election has been described by all parties as Britain’s most important in memory, with Johnson calling for a big majority so he can swiftly pull Britain out of the EU next month.
