Boris Johnson leads Tories to historic general election win

Heather Stewart Political editor (The Guardian)

Dec 13, London

Boris Johnson has clinched a historic Conservative general election victory, winning a string of seats from Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party in its traditional heartlands.

Johnson’s gamble of triggering a snap poll in the hope of uniting the Brexit vote in leave-supporting seats across Wales, the Midlands and the north of England paid off spectacularly, setting him on course for the Tories’ strongest performance for decades.

An unapologetic Corbyn used his acceptance speech in Islington North to attack the media’s portrayal of him and his party, and insist the party’s policies had been “extremely popular”.

Corbyn conceded it had been “a very disappointing night for the Labour party with the result that we have got”, and suggested Brexit had overshadowed other issues. He said he would not lead his party into another general election, but that Labour needed a “period of reflection”, which he would remain in place to oversee.

Immediately after the polls closed at 10pm, the exit poll, which pointed to a much larger than expected Conservative majority of 86, sent shock waves through both major parties.

The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, appeared pale and shocked when confronted with the figures on the BBC. Asked whether he and Corbyn would stand down if it proved accurate, he said: “We will see the results in the morning and decisions will be made then.”

The former mining constituency of Blyth Valley in Northumberland was an early Conservative gain, bearing out the exit poll’s prediction. It had been held by Labour since its creation and was No 116 on the Tory target list.

Scores of other long-held Labour seats, including Workington, Wrexham and Bishop Auckland, turned blue as the night went on, and by shortly after 5am the Conservatives had secured a majority.

The exit poll was updated as the night went on, and by 5am was projecting a slightly smaller Conservative majority of 74 with a 45% share of the vote, which would be the Tories’ highest since 1970.

Johnson, speaking at his own count in Uxbridge, said: “This one nation Conservative government has been given a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done – and not just to get Brexit done but to unite this country and to take it forward.”

He later told a gathering of aides at Conservative party headquarters: “Many of us has dreamed of a day when the Conservative party genuinely speaks for every part of the country. We have won from Workington to Woking … including seats the Conservatives have not won for 100 years or more. Wrexham. Tony Blair’s old seat in Sedgefield. We turned Redcar Blue-car.”

He later suggested the Conservative party would have to change to reflect the interests of its new seats across the Midlands, north of England and Wales.

“We must understand now what an earthquake we have created. The way in which we have changed the political map in this country. We have to grapple with the consequences of that. We have to change our own party. We have to rise to the level of events. We have to rise to the challenge that the British people have given us.”

He is now expected to push his Brexit deal through parliament, with a second reading before Christmas, exploiting his new-found freedom to operate without the support of the DUP or the ERG.

As the scale of the defeat began to sink in, staunch Corbyn loyalists were quick to blame Brexit for the party’s performance, while others pointed the finger at the leader’s personal unpopularity.

Next Post

Is NCP's path to scientific socialism smooth?

Fri Dec 13 , 2019
TweetBy HT Reporter Kathmandu, Dec 13: The ruling Nepal Communist […]

Health Tips