As polling stations have closed in the UK at 10:00 p.m. local time, the latest exit poll predicts Keir Starmer’s Labour will be attaining a majority of 170 seats, winning a total of 410 out of the House of Commons’ total 650.
The Conservative Party is expected to secure just 131 seats, followed by 61 seats for the Liberal Democrats, 13 for Reform UK, 10 seats for the Scottish National Party, four for Plaid Cymru, and two for the Greens.
If validated by tomorrow morning, between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. when final results are expected to come in from the last outstanding constituencies, Labour will have achieved a historic victory over the Tories, ending 14 years of Conservative rule and triggering yet another party leadership contest once PM Rishi Sunak submits his resignation to the king.
Notably, however, Labour’s projected majority has not met the exaggerated expectations set by Tory Minister of Work and Pensions, Mel Stride, who had yesterday warned that Starmer’s party was heading “towards the largest majority that this country has ever seen, much greater than even [Tony Blair’s] 1997 landslide.”
If this evening’s exit polls stand confirmed by tomorrow morning, Labour would miss Blair’s 1997 record majority by nine seats.
Nevertheless, if the final results do not defy the Conservative Party’s 131 projected seats, this general election will mark the party’s worst performance since the 1830s.