The shadow chancellor John McDonnell tells the BBC a decision will be made soon

When asked if both he and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will stand down if the BBC exit poll proves to be correct, Mr McDonnell – Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington in West London (Boris Johnson’s neighbouring constituency) – told the BBC’s Andrew Neil:

“Let’s see the results first, and an appropriate decision will be made in the morning.”

The Conservatives look set to gain around 50 additional seats, giving them a comfortable majority of 86 with Labour set to lose around 71 – if the exit poll is right.

Such a result for the Conservative party would be their best performance in a general election since they were re-elected for a third consecutive term in 1987 under Margaret Thatcher.

Shadow chancellor McDonnell, 68, also told the BBC: “Clearly this was a Brexit election.”

Mr Neil asked the opposition frontbencher whether Labour was now likely to realign itself back to the “centre-left”, moving away from the “hard-left” position many perceive them to have adopted since Mr Corbyn became leader in 2015.

Mr McDonnell said: “I think we are centre-left.”

Pound Sterling soared in value against the dollar by 2% as the exit poll results were announced.

Words: Scott Mathew | Subbing: Michelle Del Rey | Featured image credit: Dreamstime