10.55am: PM makes his way to Buckingham Palace
The Prime Minister has left Number 10 to visit Buckingham Palace where he will meet the Queen, where she will ask him to form a government.
Boris Johnson will inform the Queen of the result of the General Election and tell her he can command a majority in the Commons.
https://www.cityam.com/election-nigh...t-the-uk-live/
Johnson is also expected to set a timetable for the opening of parliament, which is widely believed to take place on Thursday.
Meanwhile it has emerged that voter turnout was only slightly below that of 2017 despite fears over weather putting people off attending their polling stations.
A total of 31,897,334 people voted, equivalent to 67.23 per cent of the population. That is only down marginally on the 68.7 per cent who took part in Theresa May’s disastrous 2017 snap election.
The Tories could command a majority of as much as 82 seats after Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party fell to a catastrophic loss of 59 seats, to leave them with just 203 seats in parliament.
The race is now on to replace Corbyn, who confirmed he would not lead Labour into another election.
You can read all about Johnson’s agenda here, and the PM will start by delivering Brexit on 31 January. He said this morning there would be “no ifs, no buts, and… no second referendums”.
Read more: Election live: A record number of female MPs will enter parliament
10:30am: Tories to seal 78 or 80-seat majority
With just one final result to come, the Conservative Party are on course to win a resounding majority of 78 or 80 seats.
It means Boris Johnson and the Tories have gained 47 additional seats from the previous election with 364 in total to give them a clear majority in the House of Commons.
Meanwhile, Labour has lost 59 seats to leave them with their lowest total since 1935 on 203.
PARTY SEATS CHANGES (+/-)
Conservative 364 +47
Labour 203 -57
Liberal Democrats 11 -1
Brexit Party 0 0
Scottish National Party 48 +15
Other 23 0
The Conservatives claimed 43.6 per cent share of the vote with a turnout of 67.3 per cent.
It was just 1 per cent up on the last election, with the real difference affecting Labour who lost almost 8 per cent of the overall share of votes, falling to just 32.2 per cent.
The Liberal Democrats had the biggest increase in vote share, rising by more than 4 per cent to 11.5 per cent, although the party ultimately lost one seat.
9:50am: UK stocks surge on back of Tory victory
The UK stock market has soared this morning following a night in which the Conservatives secured a considerable majority.
It has seen banks, retailers and housebuilders all rally with an end to the uncertainty and stalemate that had engulfed British politics.
The FTSE 100 index climbed over 1.83 per cent in morning trading, but the blue chip index was held back slightly by a strong sterling.
The FTSE 250, however, leapt as much as 4..4 per cent in morning trading as UK stocks rallied. The index is on course for its biggest one-day rise since 2010.
Read the full story here.
9:25am: Who are the big MP casualties?
A general election always comes with a risk of big names losing their seats in the House of Commons and for a number of MPs this became a reality over night.
As Boris Johnson’s Tories claimed an overwhelming majority, winning London seats such as Kensington and Golders Green as well as eradicating Labour’s northern stronghold seats, there were a number of high-profile MPs ousted from their constituencies.
From Jo Swinson to Zac Goldsmith, City A.M. has compiled a list of the biggest casualties from this year’s election and how they lost their seats on a dramatic night.
Read it in full here.
8:50am: Trump says UK are free to strike ‘massive’ trade deal with US
Donald Trump wasted no time in congratulating Boris Johnson on his election win with an early morning tweet.
The US President took to the website to congratulate the Prime Minister on a “great win”.
He 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 EU.”
Read the full story here.
7.23am: Boris Johnson hails ‘new dawn’ and vows to get Brexit done
Prime Minister Boris Johnson today hailed his huge General Election victory and promised to deliver Brexit by 31 January “no ifs, no buts, no maybes”.
In a speech to Tory loyalists at Conservative party HQ, he said: “We pulled it off didn’t we?” he asked. “A new dawn rises on a new day and on a new government.
“I of course want to congratulate absolutely everybody involved in securing the biggest Tory majority since the 1980s.”
“With this mandate and this majority we will at last be able to do what?” Johnson added. The audience chanted back: “Get Brexit done!”
Johnson praised traditional Labour supporters who backed the Tories in previous red strongholds.
He said: “You my only have lent us your vote, your hand may have quivered over the ballot paper before you put your cross in the Conservative box and yo may intend to return to Labour next time round and if that is the case I am humbled that you have put your trust in me and put your trust in us and I and we will never take your support for granted.”
“I will make it my mission to work nigh and day flat out to prove you right in voting for me this time and to earn your support for the future,” Johnson added.
He also voiced Conservative support for the NHS and vowed to deliver Brexit by 31 January, criticising Labour’s calls for a second referendum.
“Getting Brexit done is now the irresitable, inarguable decision of the British people,” the Prime Minister said.
“This puts an end to all those miserable threats of a second referendum. I say respectfully to our stentorian friend in the blue 12 star hat that’s it, time to put a stop in the megaphone and give everybody some peace.”
6.29am: Ed Davey steps in as acting Lib Dems leader
Election live: Ed Davey to lead Liberal Democrats
Election live: Ed Davey to lead Liberal Democrats
Sir Ed Davey has stepped in as acting Liberal Democrat leader along with Baroness Sal Brinton after Jo Swinson lost her seat on election night.
The pair will take the reins at the top of the party, which suffered an upset in the General Election at the hands of the Tories.
In a joint statement they said a leadership election will decide the next Liberal Democrats leader in the new year.
“The Liberal Democrats have this morning confirmed that Ed Davey MP and Baroness Sal Brinton will become the joint acting leaders of the Liberal Democrats,” the party said.
“A leadership election will take place in the new year.”
Baroness Brinton, president of the Liberal Democrats, added: “I want to thank Jo Swinson for her honest and fearless leadership of the Liberal Democrats.”
Swinson called the election result “hugely disappointing”, adding: “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.
“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.”
5.26am Gauke gone
Another of the Tory rebels has been kicked out as former cabinet minister David Gauke has lost his bid to win back his South West Hertfordshire.
Gauke, who was running as an independent, won just half the seats of Conservative candidate Gagan Mohindra.
Gauke won 15,919 votes compared to Mohindra’s 30,327.
Gauke was running as an independent after having the Conservative whip removed for siding with opposition parties to block a no-deal Brexit.
5.18am Boris Johnson wins his majority to ‘get Brexit done’
The Tories have officially won a parliamentary majority and sit on 334 seats.
So far it appears that Johnson’s message of “Get Brexit Done” has cut through to voters across the UK, with dozens of red seats turning blue – even in historical Labour strongholds.
The Prime Minister hailed the results as a “powerful mandate” as voters returned him to his seat of Uxbridge.“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,” he said.
“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.”
Meanwhile US President Donald Trump tweeted: “Looking like a big win for Boris in the U.K.!”
