Wakey Wakey – Exit Polls Show Landslide Conservative Boris Johnson Win in U.K. Electi

Wakey Wakey – Exit Polls Show Landslide Conservative Boris Johnson Win in U.K. Elections – Open Discussion Thread….

Posted by sundance


December 12, 2019


A “landslide”, a complete “wipe-out”, a “massive victory” appears looming for Boris Johnson and the conservative party in the U.K. if exit polls are accurate.


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These blowout results guarantee a faster Brexit from the European Union and the leftist labor party in the U.K. has been crushed. Conservatives look to have picked up 50 seats and Labor has lost 71 seats; the Scottish National Party (SNP) has picked up 20.


The “Remainers” in the U.K. have been decimated, and the voters who want to “Leave” the EU have fueled a massive victory for Boris Johnson. Liberal heads are blown-out, bigly.

(Via Daily Mail) Boris Johnson hailed his new blue-collar Tory army tonight as it emerged he is on track to secure a staggering landslide in the election battle – with Labour’s ‘red wall’ of Brexit-backing strongholds imploding.


A dramatic exit poll shows voters handing the Tories a massive 368 seats, with Labour languishing on 191 – down 71 on 2017 and the worst performance in modern history.


The bombshell numbers would give a huge Commons majority of 86, the biggest since Margaret Thatcher’s triumph in 1987, and are equivalent to a 10-point lead in the popular vote. (more)

This result also has massive ramifications for a U.S-U.K trade deal; and subsequently major leverage for the U.S. (independently) and a U.S. – U.K. alliance in future trade negotiations against the European Union.


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Exit poll shows Boris Johnson on track to WIN crucial election



By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline and Jack Maidment, Deputy Political Editor 17:00 EST 12 Dec 2019 , updated 22:30 EST 12 Dec 2019

'The greatest democracy in the world': Boris Johnson tweets thanks after sensational exit poll shows Tories winning historic Brexit election with stonking majority of EIGHTY SIX and Labour with worst result since 1935 as 'red wall' crumbles

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Boris Johnson won over 'Workington man' today as he marches his new blue-collar Tory army towards a staggering election landslide.


With Labour's 'red wall' of Brexit-backing strongholds imploding, the Conservatives pulled off a massive coup by securing the symbolic swing seat, overturning a 3,000 majority to triumph by 4,000 votes with a 10 per cent swing.
The dramatic score came with experts forecasting the Tories are on track to rack up 357 seats in the first December election for nearly a century, with Labour collapsing to 201 - down 61 on 2017.

Jeremy Corbyn announced this morning that he will quit as leader in the wake of the humiliation, swiping at 'disgusting' media attacks on him, saying he still believed his hard-Left platform was 'popular', and blaming Brexit for preventing 'normal political debate'. However, he made clear he would stay on for a period of 'reflection' while a replacement was selected.

The bombshell numbers would give Mr Johnson a huge Commons majority of 64, the biggest since Margaret Thatcher's third victory in 1987, and more than enough to fulfill his vow to 'get Brexit done'.

By contrast Mr Corbyn looks to have stewarded his party to its worst performance since 1935 and plunged it into a seething civil war - despite his allies claiming earlier that high turnout might have helped him pull off a surprise.

The Tories overturned an 8,000 majority to rip the former mining area of Blythe Valley in Northumberland from Labour's grip for the first time ever. The party's candidate won by 700 votes after securing an incredible 10.2 per cent swing in what was theoretically only 85th on the target list.


There were also jaw-dropping gains in Bishop Auckland - which had never elected a Conservative MP in 134 years - Leigh, Darlington, Stockton South, Redcar - which saw a 15.5 per cent swing - Peterborough, Wrexham and the Vale of Clywd.

As the political map was redrawn in a few tumultuous hours, places like Jarrow, Houghton & Sunderland South, Sunderland Central, and Newcastle Upon-Tyne Central saw enormous movements from Labour to the Conservatives - although the party clung on.
A pattern was emerging of Brexit Party candidates draining votes from Labour in its northern heartlands, while Tory support held steady.



How good would the results be for the Tories?

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Margaret Thatcher pictured after her first election victory Experts are now forecasting a majority of 57 for the Tories.
That would be the biggest since Margaret Thatcher's landslide of 1987 - which was also driven by blue-collar Tory voters.


By contrast Labour's 201 would be its worst since the 1930s - leaving his dream of a socialist Britain in ruins.
It would outdo even the showing by Mr Corbyn's left-win hero Michael Foot, who was famously put to the sword by Margaret Thatcher with just 209 seat in 1983.


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Michael Foot with his disastrous 1983 Labour manifesto - known as the 'longest suicide note in history' In a few crumbs of comfort for Remainers, Cabinet minister Zac Goldsmith lost to the Lib Dems in the heavily Remain seat of Richmond Park.
Putney was taken from the Conservatives by Labour thanks to tactical voting by Lib Dem supporters. And Labour's Rosie Duffield kept hold of Canterbury - one of its marquee captures from the 2017 poll.
However, a cross-party bid to eject Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in Esher & Walton and Tory ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith in Chingford and Wood Green failed.

There were scenes of jubilation in CCHQ as the exit poll was unveiled at 10pm, with staff singing and dancing following a month of brutal political struggle as Mr Corbyn tried desperately to sell his hard-Left agenda to the UK public.
The initial exit poll suggested the Tories were going to do even better, with 368 seats and Labour collapsing to 191.
However, the numbers were scaled back a bit as more actual results came through.
The SNP are predicted to get 55 MPs - approaching a clean sweep in Scotland - and the Lib Dems have effectively stalled on 13 after a dismal all-out Remain campaign by leader Jo Swinson - who might now lose her own East Dunbartonshire seat.
Without explicitly claiming victory this evening, Mr Johnson tweeted a 'thank you' to 'everyone across our great country who voted, who volunteered, who stood as candidates'.

Posting a picture of himself with workers carrying a 'we love Boris' sign, he said: 'We live in the greatest democracy in the world.'
But for Mr Corbyn his dream of a socialist Britain is now in ruins, with his time in charge of the party surely coming crashing to an end.


If confirmed, it would be worse than the showing by his hero Michael Foot, who was famously put to the sword by Thatcher with just 209 seat in 1983.
Left-wing stalwarts including the 'Beast of Bolsover' Dennis Skinner are set to be humiliatingly ejected as Mr Johnson flips huge swathes of the country from deep red to Tory blue.
In an amazing piece of understatement, an ashen-faced shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the exit poll was 'disappointing' and blamed it on Brexit. 'I thought it would be closer,' he said.
'The poll itself, I think it looks as though it's Brexit dominated, a lot of this I think was Brexit fatigue, people just wanted it over and done with and it put Labour in a very difficult position.'
Speaking to BBC News, Mr McDonnell said: 'We thought other issues could cut through and there would be a wider debate, from this evidence there clearly wasn't.'
On the future of Mr Corbyn's leadership, Mr McDonnell 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.'
But Labour moderates were jubilant, with one source who had expected a narrow result telling MailOnline: 'Never been so pleased to be wrong.' Former Labour MPs said the 'Great Leader' should immediately resign along with his hard-Left clique.
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Without explicitly claiming victory, Mr Johnson tweeted a 'thank you' to 'everyone across our great country who voted, who volunteered, who stood as candidates' https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12...6204946263.jpg
A shocked looking Jeremy Corbyn was bustled out of his house by aides at 11pm as the scale of his catastrophe became clear https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12...6204973512.jpg
Mr Corbyn managed a limp thumbs up for the cameras as he arrived at his countr in Islington North 300 of 650 seats declared326 seats needed for majority




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John McDonnell was visibly shaken by the exit poll during an appearance on the BBC. He said the numbers were 'extremely disappointing' 'Extremely disappointing:' John McDonnell admits electoral defeat




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Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon tried to blame Brexit for the Labour Party's poor general election showing https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12...6197222310.jpg
Labour MP candidate Caroline Flint said it was a 'terrible night' for the party as she said Mr Corbyn and Brexit were to blame https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12...6203885093.jpg
Ian Levy, the mental health worker who won Blythe Valley for the Tories (pictured centre), said in his victory speech: 'I would like to thank Boris.' 2019 General Election: Exit poll predicts Tory majority




Dame Margaret Hodge, who repeatedly condemned Mr Corbyn over the anti-Semitism that has been rampant in Labour since he took charge, said: 'This is the utter failure of Corbyn & Corbynism. There is no other way of looking at it.'

Amid reports of 'mega' turnout and unprecedented levels of tactical voting by Remainers, Tories had become nervous that victory could somehow slip from their grasp, despite a slew of polls during the campaign having given them a double-digit advantage.

But the fears seem to be unfounded, as the party's mantra of 'get Brexit done' swung previously rock-solid Labour supporters.

The pound immediately jumped 3 per cent against the US dollar on the news, as markets breathed a sigh of relief at the prospect of clarity on Brexit and no anti-business Labour government.
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Home Secretary Priti Patel said the government would move quickly to 'get Brexit done' before Christmas by introducing legislation in Parliament if it is returned to power.

Labour's previous worst tally came in 1935

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In 1935 Clement Attlee could claim Labour was on an upward trajectory Labour's forecast tally of 191 seats would be the worst for the party since 1935.

But at that stage the leader, Clement Attlee, could claim the party was on an upward trajectory.

Labour increased its numbers on that occasion by 102, and its share of the popular vote by 7.4 per cent.
Attlee went on to serve in Winston Churchill's wartime Cabinet, and then defeated the famous leader in 1945.
That Labour government created the NHS and arguably created the modern welfare state.

Mr Johnson was fighting for votes right to the last minute, tweeting to urge supporters to cast their ballots as he campaigned in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.

And his strategy of focusing relentlessly on Brexit looks like being completely vindicated, as Labour faces a brutal rout.
After the Blythe Valley result was declared, flabbergasted ex-chancellor George Osborne said: 'We never thought we'd get Blythe Valley. We had hopes in a place called Tynemouth, which we might come to later.

'There's a Conservative candidate in Hexham who I heard a couple of days ago saying 'we are going to win Blythe valley' and I thought he was always a bit optimistic, this guy. But he was right and that is a pretty spectacular win.'

Ian Levy, the mental health worker who won the seat for the Tories, said in his victory speech: 'I would like to thank Boris.'
The first big Labour scalp claimed by the Tories was shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman, who lost Workington.


Labour's Gareth Snell predicted his own defeat ahead of the result in another former stronghold, Stoke-on-Trent Central, sayin: 'I'm going to lose badly and this is the start of 20 years of Tory rule.'

Boris Johnson's partner Carrie Symonds tweeted: 'Gutted to hear that @ZacGoldsmith hasn't been re-elected in Richmond. We have lost a truly decent, hardworking MP.


'I know I will continue to work with him to promote animal welfare and protect our oceans & environment. Zac is one of my heroes.'




As the breathtaking sequence of turnarounds continued, Tories secured swings of up to 20 per cent to take a wrecking ball to the 'red wall'.
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland the DUP was suffering a torrid time - with its Westminster leader Nigel Dodds losing his North Belfast seat to Sinn Fein after other Remain-backin parties gave them a clear run.

Labour former Cabinet minister Ed Balls suggested Mr Corbyn's weak response to the Salisbury nerve agent outrage - urging the government to send the Novichok samples to Moscow for testing - was a big factor.

'Salisbury was quite immediate in people's minds and the terror attack in London,' he told ITV.


'This manifesto had a much bigger price tag than 2017 and I'm afraid the cumulation of nationalisations and spending commitments meant that lots of Labour voters were saying 'does it add up and who is going to pay for it?


'It wasn't only about Brexit. It's a line in the Corbyn team but it's not going to wash at all.'


Former Labour home secretary Alan Johnson said the party's losses would be down to Mr Corbyn's unpopularity on the doorstep.


He said: 'It's Corbyn, it's Corbyn. The Corbynistas will make an argument that victory is a bourgeois concept, that 'the only goal for true socialists is glorious bloody defeat'.


'And now we've just had another one. And there'll be all the conspiracy theories thrown about. It's Corbyn. We knew that in Parliament.


'We knew he was incapable of leading, we knew he was worse than useless at all the qualities you need to lead a political party.'


In a furious attack on the left-win cabal that hijacked Labour, Mr Johnson said: 'I want them out of the party. I want them gone. Go back to your student politics.'


A leaked copy of Labour's so-called 'lines to take' document - prompts given to senior figures ahead of appearances on TV - sparked fury among many of the party's candidates because they suggested people should solely blame Brexit.



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Paul Bristow (pictured right being congratulated by fellow Tory MP Shailesh Vara) won back Peterborough for the Tories https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12...6203924803.jpg
Labour chairman Ian Lavery, who held on in Wansbeck with a much reduced majority, blamed Brexit for the disaster rather than the leader https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12...6204064093.jpg
Lord Buckethead seemed to be enjoying himself at the count in the PM's Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency today

The document said 'this defeat is overwhelmingly down to one issue - the divisions in the country over Brexit, and the Tory campaign, echoed by most of the media, to persuade people that only Boris Johnson can 'get Brexit done''.





But shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott hinted that she wants Mr Corbyn to hang on.
Corbyn-ocalypse! Labour leader breaks cover amid calls for him to quit

has broken cover amid growing calls for him to quit as the Labour Party faces one of its worst ever sets of general election results.


Mr Corbyn is on course to lead Labour to a tally of just 191 seats according to a bombshell exit poll which has been borne out by a series of crushing defeats to the Tories in previously safe seats.
If that number is where the party finishes the election it would be even worse than Labour's recent low watermark under Michael Foot in 1983 when it crashed to just 209 MPs.


Mr Corbyn, who was spotted leaving his London home just after 11pm, is now under increasing pressure to resign after failing to get anywhere close to winning power in back-to-back elections.

His allies tried to deflect blame away from him as they said Brexit was the cause of the party's dismal showing.


But Labour MP candidates responded to the exit poll by claiming it demonstrated the 'utter failure of Corbyn & Corbynism'.

Numerous Labour big beasts put the boot in as former home secretary Alan Johnson said Mr Corbyn was 'worse than useless' while former shadow chancellor Ed Balls slammed the attempt to blame Brexit as he said that was 'not going to wash at all'.
An ashen-faced John McDonnell said the numbers were 'extremely disappointing' as he all but conceded defeat.


The shadow chancellor cited an election focus on the UK's departure from the EU as the cause of Labour's woes - an argument also made by shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon.

'This is clearly a bad night for Labour, which requires careful analysis. But it could be much worse than a bad night for all those who rely on our public services and the NHS. Which means we still need a leadership that fights for the many, not the few,' she tweeted.

Labour chairman Ian Lavery, who held on in Wansbeck with a much reduced majority, blamed Brexit for the disaster rather than the leader.

'The big difference is that in 2019 we promised a second referendum,' he told he BBC. 'And people are suggesting, quite rightly, why should there be a second referendum when they had a referendum in 2016. That's the issue. It's not Jeremy Corbyn. It's Brexit, and ignoring democracy.'





Shadow cabinet minister Dawn Butler also dodged questions on whether Mr Corbyn should resign.

'I think, it's so early on the evening. I think we really have to wait, and then we really have to reflect quite seriously about where we go and the direction of travel for the Labour Party,' she told Sky News.

Momentum chief Jon Lansmann argued that Mr Corbyn should not be ejected immediately.
'I think Jeremy has to make those decisions himself. You know Jeremy has always been a reluctant leader, I don't think he'll overstay his welcome,' he said.

'But I think he should be able to make decisions. And I don't think we should rush into these things. Christmas is not far away, I don't think decisions really need to be taken about this until the New Year.'

A Conservative spokesman tried to dampen the jubilation after the exit poll - which forecast the result to within a few seats two years ago.
'This is a projection, not a result, it's important we wait to see the actual results when they come in,' the spokesman said.



'What we do know is that voters have rejected Labour's fudge on Brexit. We needed this election because parliament was doing all it could to frustrate the will of the people.



'A functioning majority would mean we can now finally end the uncertainty and get Brexit done. It would allow the country to come together and move forward by delivering the change people voted for in 2016. '




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Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan trolled Grant and his fellow Labour-supportin 'Luvvies' on Twitter tonight https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12...6195736690.jpg
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage claimed his decision to stand down in Tory-held seats was critical in delivering the victory for Mr Johnson A Labour spokesman said: 'We, of course, knew this was going to be a challenging election, with Brexit at the forefront of many people's minds and our country increasingly polarised.
'But Labour has changed the debate in British politics. We have put public ownership, a green industrial revolution, an end to austerity centre stage and introduced new ideas, such as plans for free broadband and free personal care. The Tories only offered more of the same.'


Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage claimed his decision to stand down in Tory-held seats was critical in delivering the victory for Mr Johnson.
General election 2019: Exit poll in full

Conservative Party: 368 (+50)
Labour Party: 191 (-71)
SNP: 55 (+20)
Liberal Democrats: 13 (+1)
Plaid Cymru: 3 (-1)






Speaking to BBC News, Mr Farage said: 'I can tell you that if we had stood in every seat in the country it would have been a hung parliament. 'That would have been a disaster ... I think the Liberal Democrats would have won an awful lot of seats.'
On Mr Johnson's Brexit deal, Mr Farage said: 'If the current treaty on the table with the political declaration passes unamended I can't bring myself to support it.



'Look, I've spent my political career trying to get Brexit, alright. We're going to get Brexit. Are we going to get the right one? Maybe not.'



Arch-Remainer Hugh Grant was snapped looking disconsolate as he was shown the exit poll on a mobile phone.
The politically outspoken actor had been canvassing with Labour and candidates during the campaign and urged his fans to vote tactically to deny the Conservatives in marginal seats.



But as he tonight laid eyes on these parties' woeful performance, the Love Actually star looked down-trodden with his wife Anna Eberstein.
In a short and sour admission of defeat, Grant tweeted: 'There goes the neighbourhood,' a reference to Britain now likely pulling out of the EU.


He joined a chorus of glum Remain celebrities who voiced their misery as the prospect of second Brexit referendum went up in smoke.


Going into today, Mr 's lead in the polls was narrowing and he hoped to secure a swathe of northern seats to give the majority that eluded Theresa May in 2017 - when she won 318 seats to Labour's 262.


But Labour sources had claimed its traditional vote was holding up. 'It doesn't feel like there's any real move towards Johnson or away from Corbyn,' one source said. 'I think we could easily see almost exactly the same result as last time.'


However, another Tory fighting to keep a seat in the north east said they believed turnout was 'good' among their own supporters.
Another Conservative source agreed that turnout looked 'mega'.


But they added: 'No way to know if it's really up or if people are just voting early because it's winter and they don't want to do it after work.'






Mr Johnson's hopes had appeared to be put into the balance earlier as voters turned out in their millions to take part in the crucial election.



Constituencies across the country reported the longest queues seen at polling stations for years today, sparking fears of a Remainer 'youthquake' that could derail attempts to leave the EU.


Thousands snaked around the block outside schools, village halls, churches, pubs and other community buildings in the wet and cold to exercise their democratic right at the UK's 50,000 polling stations from 7am.



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The exit poll shows voters handing the Tories a massive 368 seats, with Labour languishing on 191 - down 71 on 2017 and the worst performance in modern history









(go to link for remains story)



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-election.html

Britain Votes: Breitbart London Election Night 2019 Live Wire

December 12, 2019


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Polling stations have now closed on the United Kingdom’s 2019 snap election, the fifth national vote in Britain since 2014, and results are expected to roll in until early Friday morning.


While the first results may come in as quickly as an hour after the polls closed at 2200GMT, some of the most rural and remote areas — including the Scottish Islands where votes have to be brought to the mainland by boat — could take until Friday morning.

A so-called exit poll, based on interviews with voters as they leave polling stations across the country and trying to forecast the overall vote can legally be published immediately after 2200, when all polling stations close and its results can no longer influence would-be voter

UPDATE 0345 — Red Ken Blames “Jewish Vote” for Corbyn’s Losses
The former Labour Party mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said that Boris Johnson’s predicted landslide victory spells “the end” for Jeremy Corbyn, blaming the loss on the “Jewish vote”.

Want Breaking News from Breitbart Direct to Your Inbox? Takes Just 2 Seconds...



In the latest antisemitic outburst from the far-left ex-Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone blamed the loss of his “close ally” Jeremy Corbyn on the 70-year-old socialist’s handling of allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party.

Mr Livingstone said: “The Jewish vote wasn’t very helpful.”
Read more here: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/201...e-jewish-vote/

UPDATE 0345 — Boris retains seat, gives acceptance speech
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has seen off leftist efforts to unseat him from his constituency through tactical voting comfortably.

Flanked by a number of independents — a common sight in prime ministers’ constituencies — the Prime Minister offered a shout-out to one of them, “Lord Buckethead”, by name as well a gentleman dressed as Elmo, before thanking the police, returning officers, and other involved in organising the election, and pledging to govern with renewed vigour.

UPDATE 0335 — Tories take Tony Blair’s former constituency
The Conservative Party have taken the constituency of Sedgefield, once held by former Labour prime minister Tony Blair, signalling the scale of the swing against the left-wing party.

UPDATE 0330 — Corbyn Gone
Jeremy Corbyn has retained his parliamentary seat but confirmed he will not lead the Labour Party in a future general election following tonight’s unfolding disaster in his acceptance speech. He will continue to lead during a post-election “period of reflection”, however.

UPDATE 0320 — McDonnell retains seat, cries of “terrorist”, punches thrown
Chaos has erupted at the count in John McDonnell’s constituency. The Shadow Chancellor, who is known for having made comments sympathetic to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) terror campaign against the British state and British citizens, was denounced as a “terrorist” by members of the crowd, and a scuffle broke out in which blows were exchanged before the police intervened.

UPDATE 0310 — DUP Westminster leader loses Belfast North
Nigel Dodds, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party’s Westminster contingent, has lost his Belfast North seat. The pro-Brexit, socially conservative party, which favours maintaining the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, made a so-called confidence and supply arrangement with the Conservatives after Theresa May lost her parliamentary majority in 2017.

UPDATE 0305 — Chuka Umunna fails in bid to remain a member of parliament
Former Labour member of parliament turned Change UK and then Liberal Democrat member Chuka Umunna — a key anti-Brexit MP — has failed to remain in Britain’s lower chamber. He was contesting the seat for Westminster but lost out to the Conservative’s Nickie Allen who won 17,049. The former Streatham MP got a respectable, but nonetheless insufficient 13,096 votes under the Liberal banner.

UPDATE 0225 — Brexit Party fails in Hartlepool
A key target for Nigel Farage’s Brexit party — being challenged by party chairman Richard Tice — has been held by Labour. Disappointing for the Brexit Party, certainly, but the party so far this evening has shown very little sign of splitting the right-wing vote — a key criticism of Mr Farage’s approach to the election so far.

UPDATE 0215 — Go woke, go broke
Since Britain considered the possibility of leaving the European Union, the political scene has been inundated with former Prime Ministers telling people how to vote. One of them is former Tory leader John Major, the Prime Minister who took over the party from Margaret Thatcher and too the country into the controversial Maastricht treaty — an act which essentially kick-started the eurosceptic movement in the United Kingdom.

The problem for Major’s elder statesman act is — according to the unproven exit poll — is how much more popular Boris Johnson’s pro-Brexit pitch to the people seems to be than his approach. Indeed, if the exit poll plays out this morning, Boris Johnson will have achieved a lead over Labour four times larger than Major’s in 1992.

UPDATE 0200 — Labour makes a gain!
In their first gain of the night, the Labour Party have won in Putney, besting the Tories with 45.1 per cent of the vote. The seat is the first result so far in which Labour have gained more votes than the 2017 election as the party continues to bleed support nationwide.

UPDATE 0125 — Workington man votes Tory
The Conservative Party has won Workington — not only a seat that has never voted Conservative before, but the seat reckoned to characterise the whole election. Party leaders travelled to Workington to woo the so-called “Workington man”, a Brexiteer in a traditionally Labour area.

Cearly the Tory plan is working. The seat was created after the First World War and has voted consistently Labour ever since 1979, and mostly Labour since 1918. This is a predominantly working-class area — further evidence that the Conservatives have picked up working class, so-called left-behind areas abandoned by the increasingly liberal, urban Labour party.

UPDATE 0110 — Tories enjoy strong swing in key Nuneaton seat
Nuneaton was the key seat in the 2016 Brexit referendum — for many pundits seeing the key bellwether had voted to leave the European Union was the giveaway that Britain as a whole would do so.

The Conservative MP for the town Marcus Jones has dramatically increased his majority to over 13,000 tonight — up from 4,700 in 2017. This is an absolutely major swing for the Conservatives in a swing seat that had been Labour for decades before Jones won the seat for the Tories in 2010.

UPDATE 0030 — About Blythe Valley…

UPDATE 2335 — Newcastle Upon Tyne wins the race to first to declare
Labour has retained the seat of Newcastle central, the city returning Chi Onwurah to Parliament again. Her vote fell by 2,500 — interestingly near exactly the same number of votes the Brexit Party achieved.

Sunderland followed shortly after, also returning a Labour MP — Bridget Phillipson. Her vote also fell considerably — again by a similar number of votes to the Brexit Party, who enjoyed a decent showing with 15.5 per cent of the vote to Labour’s 40.7 per cent.

We’ve also had the first Tory MP of the night — the Conservatives have taken Blyth Valley from Labour, overturning a strong majority to take the seat by 600 or so seats. The Conservatives have a ten per cent swing in this key seat — considered a key to the rest of the night’s results.
647 seats to go…


UPDATE 2300 — Twitter responds
Because our political class lives on Twitter, here are some choice responses:
Boris Johnson is obviously happy:

But Labour’s David Lammy is not:

Hollywood luvvie Hugh Grant — who has been campaigning for anti-Brexit candidates this election — is also not a happy fellow:
He’s joined by Labour’s Jess Phillips

Oh dear…

An important point — you either believe in democracy, or you don’t:

UPDATE 2230 — How would this result compare to elections past?
A majority of 368, if the exit poll is correct, is obviously nothing like any election result the United Kingdom has seen in the past decade. The last time any UK party exceeded that number was the then left-centrist Labour party in its 1997 landslide under europhile globalist Tony Blair, who won 418 seats.

The last Tory win of such a magnitude was Margaret Thatcher in 1983, when she won 397 seats, a majority of 144 seats.

Read more at Breitbart London:

UPDATE 2203 — Exit polls suggest enormous Conservative majority, Labour collapse

The exit poll has now been released, and if the figures are to be believed — bearing in mind even this poll has got it wrong before — there will be champagne corks popping in Conservative headquarters.

While the Conservatives needed nine seats to control the house, the prediction is they would actually gain 50, taking them to 368. This is a majority of 86 over Labour — a potentially major achievement that would give the Conservatives the largest majority for the party in decades.

UPDATE 2200 — Polls close

Polling stations have now closed, leaving the not inconsequential task of counting. Sealed crates of paper ballots will be transported to local government counts around the country where they will be counted and verified, before the constituency returning officer declares the results.

We’re in for a long night.

The Day So Far

British electoral law prevents journalists from reporting on many aspects of the day so not to influence voters on the day they actually cast their ballots — but some unusual events have permeated the shutdown.

Police in Motherwell, Scotland were called to a polling station in the early hours of this morning after a “suspicious device” was spotted. The incident was deemed sufficiently serious that the surrounding area was evacuated before a bomb disposal robot was sent in to destroy the device.

Police subsequently revealed the object was not a “viable” bomb, but arrested a 48-year-old man. Information about the identity of the suspect, or a potential motive.
Why is this election happening? A potted history of Brexit


British politics has been in an unusually intense state of political activity in recent years, with the watershed moment arguably coming in 2014 — meaning the British people have been in a state of near-constant debates, coverage, and national votes for half a decade.

This has been largely down to Brexit — Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union — probably the defining political feature of this generation.
Then Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron promised Eurosceptics an in-out referendum way back in 2013, a major concession but an easy concession for him to make. Not only did Cameron not believe the country would vote for it — offering the vote would allow him to silence anti-Europe critics within his own party for a generation — but he said he would only give in in 2015 or later, after a general election he did not believe he would win.

This promise became complicated for him when the British people voted Nigel Farage’s UKIP into first place in the 2014 European Union elections. Not only did this knock Cameron’s Conservatives off the top perch in the European Parliament, it meant an overtly Eurosceptic party had won a national election for the first time.
With the following year came the 2015 general election Cameron did not expect to win — but win he did, and this time without the need of a coalition partner — leaving him with a manifesto promise to give that EU referendum to the British people. The pollsters had failed to predict the outcome of the 2015 election, and after a failed attempt to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the European Union to make remaining seem more appealing, the pollsters got it wrong in 2016 when they failed to predict the outcome of the referendum.

The British people voted to leave the European Union, giving Brexit the greatest political mandate for any issue or government in British political history. But rather than taking the message — the vote threw into crisis a government which had been whole-blooded in its support for the losing side — David Cameron resigned as prime minister within hours of the news coming in.


Then followed Prime Minister Theresa May, elevated to the leadership of the Conservative Party after frontrunner Boris Johnson dropped out of the race. May — a Remain supporter who nonetheless promised to deliver Brexit — was determined to get a new parliament to carry her plan through, but bungled the 2017 snap general election and put the events in motion that inevitably led to today’s general election.

After two years of, at times, torturous ‘negotiations’ with the European Union, May found herself unable to pass her Brexit deal through a House of Commons her party had no majority in. While she clung onto power, it was Nigel Farage again winning the European Parliament elections — in 2019 under a newly concocted Brexit Party banner — that finally brought the curtain down on May’s reign.
Mr Farage in the meanwhile credited himself with the scalp of a second Conservative prime minister in three years.

Reigns of the Conservative Party now passed to Boris Johnson, Britain again moved into another period of renegotiation with the European Union. This more swiftly concluded, the so-called deal again failed to pass through Parliament, Johnson having inherited the same hung fractious, broadly anti-Brexit parliament that had frustrated Theresa May.

Hence today’s snap election — after several attempts, Boris Johnson finally got the blessing of Parliament to hold fresh votes. While Brexit is far from the only issue at stake, it has certainly been the most discussed — hence the British press dubbing this the ‘Brexit election’.

Yet despite that, it will be the fifth national vote in five calendar years — and the fourth dominated by Brexit. Whether this will be the last Brexit election or not, depends on the polls and the coming months and years.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/201...019-live-wire/