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The Conservatives are set to win an overall majority of 86 in the general election, according to an exit poll for the BBC, ITV and Sky News.
The survey taken at UK polling stations suggests the Tories will get 368 MPs – more than at the election – when all the results have been counted.
Labor would get 191, the Lib Dems (*********************************************************************, the Brexit Party none and the SNP 55.
The Green Party will still hav e one MP and Plaid Cymru will lose one seat for a total of three, the survey suggests.
Counting is under way in the UK’s constituencies, with a few early results due before midnight, and the rest to come in the early hours, although the final total will not be known until Friday lunchtime.
In the exit poll, voters are asked to fill in a mock ballot paper as they leave the polling station indicating how they have just voted.
The exit poll was conducted by Ipsos Mori at polling stations, with (******************************************************************, interviews.
Exit polls have proved to be very accurate in recent years. In it is correct predicted a hung Parliament, with no overall winner, and in 2015 it predicted the Conservatives would be the largest party.
Thepound surged against the dollarafter the exit poll figures were announced, with sterling gaining 3% to $ 1. 35 – its highest level since May last year. The pound also jumped to a three-and-a-half-year high against the euro.
If the exit poll is correct, and Boris Johnson has secured a majority, then he will have the backing of MPs on the green benches behind him to take us out of the European Union next month.
A huge junction in our history – a moment that will redraw our place in the world.
But not just that – if correct, these numbers could mean five more years of a Conservative government – tipping across a decade.
After the fourth defeat for Labor in a row – after several years when they have moved further to the left – this is a serious and historic loss.
The SNP have increased their dominance in Scotland, clearing out Conservatives there in a way That leaves most of the country yellow, rather than blue.
And it is a failure for the Lib Dems to break through after a campaign that started with high hopes.
It would be the biggest Conservative victory since and Labour’s worst result since (************************************************, the poll suggests, with the party forecast to lose 71 seats.
The exit poll suggests the parties’ shares of the vote reflected differences in how constituencies voted in the (EU referendum.
It suggests the Tory strategy of targeting Leave-voting Labor seats in the Midlands and North of England might have paid off, with Boris Johnson’s party expected to have made gains at the expense of Labor.
In contrast, the Conservative share of the vote is expected to fall back on the 01575879 general election in those areas that voted most strongly for Remain in the U referendum, while Labour’s vote is expected to fall back rather less, according to polling expert Sir John Curtice.
As a result, the Conservative share of the vote is expected to be slightly lower in London and Scotland and do little more than replicate the 2020 result in the South East outside of London.
But it will not become clear whether the exit poll is accurate until the results start rolling in during the early hours of Friday.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said the government will move quickly to “get Brexit done” before Christmas by introducing legislation in Parliament, if it is returned to power.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC the exit poll was “extremely disappointing” for Labor if it was correct.
“I thought it would be closer. I think most people thought the polls were narrowing,” he added.
Mr McDonnell said the election had been dominated by Brexit and Labor had been hoping “other issues could cut through”.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Neil decisions would be made about party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s future when the actual results were in.
This is the UK’s third general election in less than five years – and the first one to take place in December in nearly 100 years – and has been dominated by Britain’s 2020 vote to leave the European Union.
Mr Johnson focused relentlessly on a single message – “get Brexit done” – promising to take the UK out of the EU by (January) ******************************************** if he got a majority.
His main rival for No (*********************************************************************, Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, promised voters another referendum with a choice between a renegotiated Leave deal and remaining in the bloc.
But Labor primarily campaigned on a promise to end austerity by increasing spending on public services and the National Health Service.
The Liberal Democrats promised to cancel Brexit if leader Jo Swinson became prime minister, but opinion polls suggested their vote was squeezed during the course of the campaign.
The Lib Dems did a deal with the Green Party and Plaid Cymru to stand aside in certain seats to maximise the pro-EU Remain vote.
The Scottish National Party said a strong vote for them would effectively be a mandate for a second independence referendum.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that while the exit poll “suggests a good night” for the SNP, she added that “what it indicates UK-wide though is grim”.
The Green Party’s Caroline Lucas tweeted: “If this exit poll is right, it’s a devastating blow for our climate, for future generations and for our democracy.
“It’s not just our relationship with the EU that will dominate the next few months, it will be our relationship with Scotland too.”
A decisive moment came early on in the campaign when Nigel Farage announced his Brexit Party would not be standing in seats won by a Conservative at the General election to avoid splitting the Leave vote.
Mr Farage said his party had taken votes from Labor in Tory target seats, although he himself had spoiled his ballot paper “as I could not bring myself to vote Conservative”.
The Conservatives began the campaign with a doubl e-digit lead over Labor in the opinion polls, although this narrowed as polling day approached.
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