LAST UPDATE | 4 Jul
KEIR STARMER IS on course to become the next UK prime minister with a huge majority for his Labour party, tonight’s TV exit poll has predicted.
The exit poll is predicting a historic defeat for the incumbent Conservative party and a return to Downing Street for Labour, who could govern with 410 seats, a majority of 170 and an increase of 209 seats on the last general election.
A result along these lines would represent a staggering win for the Labour party, potentially challenging Tony Blair’s first victory in 1997 when the party won 418 seats.
That win by Blair ushered in 13 years of Labour in government and was the first of three successive election victories until the Tories returned to power in 2010.
Keir Starmer has thanked those who voted for him and “put their trust in a changed Labour Party” after the exit poll revealed he is on course for a landslide.
“To everyone who has campaigned for Labour in this election, to everyone who voted for us and put their trust in our changed Labour Party – thank you,” he posted to X.
The Conservatives have remained in power for an eventful 14 years across five different prime minsters and an exit from the European Union but this decisive loss completely upends the political map in the United Kingdom.
The exit poll suggests that the Conservatives could lose as many as 241 seats, putting some of the party’s biggest names at risk.
Counting will commence immediately and the repercussions for Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party are set to become clear over the coming hours.
The exit poll, announced moments after polling closed at 10pm, also predicted significant losses for the SNP in Scotland, and the potential for the Nigel Farage-led Reform party to pick up 13 seats.
The Green Party could win two seats, with the Welsh Plaid Cymru doubling their number to two seats.
The exit poll does not contain details of Northern Ireland’s 18 seats in Westminster, which will become clear in the coming hours.
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