It’s the 12th of December, and people have been out in their thousands to vote in the general election.

Tension has been building all day and polling stations have now shut.

Here are the exit polls:

Conservatives are set for a win with an overall majority of 86, according to the BBC, ITV and Sky News. Labour are predicted to lose 71 seats.

Conservaties: 368

Labour: 191

SNP: 55

Liberal Democrats: 13

Plaid Cymru: 3

Greens: 1

Brexit Party: 0

Others: 22

Shadow chancellor and Labour figure, John McDonnell has said that the results have come ‘”as a shock” adding that he “thought it [the results] would be closer”.

 

Other Labour candidates have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment with the exit poll results:

Disappointing Exit Poll. Let's see if accurate.

If, as it seems, this was a Brexit election then the next one won't be given Johnson’s Thatcherite agenda.

And Johnson must continue to be fought with radical alternatives, not triangulation, that challenge the Tories head-on.

— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) December 12, 2019

Boris Johnson on the other hand appears to have taken delight in the prediction:

Thank you to everyone across our great country who voted, who volunteered, who stood as candidates. We live in the greatest democracy in the world. pic.twitter.com/1MuEMXqWHq

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 12, 2019

What is an exit poll?

The exit poll is based on a survey taken in 144 constituencies across England, Scotland and Wales. The predictions gathered for the exit poll are based on voters leaving polling station who are asked to fill out a mock ballot paper with the party they voted for. The constituencies are chosen to be representative of the entire country.

 

Words By: Eleanor Dalton