Brace yourselves, Britain—Keir Starmer and the Labour Party are back with a bang! If exit polls are to be believed, Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party has delivered a knockout blow to the Conservatives, ending 14 years of Tory rule with an absolute landslide.
Exit polls project Labour securing a whopping 410 seats in the House of Commons, leaving the Tories with a paltry 131. This means Starmer, the former chief prosecutor turned politician, will be stepping into No. 10 Downing Street faster than you can say “electoral Armageddon.”
For Rishi Sunak, the news is grim. The current PM faces the ignominy of leading his party to its worst defeat in over a century. Former minister Robert Buckland, who lost his seat, summed it up best: “It’s an electoral Armageddon.”
The exit poll magic suggests Labour will enjoy a massive 170-seat majority. Not quite Tony Blair’s legendary 179-seat lead in 1997, but still a colossal shift from Boris Johnson’s 80-seat majority in 2019.
While these polls aren’t the final word, they’ve been spot-on in recent elections. As vote counting continues, all eyes are on the televised announcements, where candidates, including some running as a joke, make their dramatic appearances. Speaking of jokes, keep an eye out for Count Binface, who’s cheekily challenging Sunak in his northern constituency.
Key Conservative figures are facing the chop. Cabinet minister Steve Baker and ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith are practically packing their bags, each having less than a 1% chance of holding onto their seats. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Defence Minister Grant Shapps aren’t faring much better. It’s a bloodbath.
Labour’s resurgence comes after a dismal 2019 under Jeremy Corbyn, their worst result in nearly a century. Starmer, showcasing Labour’s fresh face, convinced voters they deserved another shot at running the country.
Rishi Sunak, in contrast, gambled on a snap election amidst plummeting polls and ended up with the short straw. His warnings against a Labour majority clearly fell on deaf ears.
The night also marks a potential comeback for Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party. Despite controversial campaign moments, Reform UK is projected to nab at least 13 seats, a first for the party’s predecessors. Farage himself might finally snag a seat in Clacton on his eighth attempt.
So, if the exit polls hold true, Sunak will be packing up, and Starmer will be moving into the UK’s most famous address today. Let the political fireworks begin!
