Election results: Piers Morgan ridiculed for drastically misjudging outcome
'We will see who is advising you of this mystic meg ... You seem to have it wrong Piersy,' says Lord Sugar
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Piers Morgan might have both predicted Donald Trump’s shock victory and relished in doing so but he has been less prophetic in his forecast for the UK general election.
The presenter, who is also editor-at-large of the US Mail Online, was adamant Theresa May would win a majority hours before the polls. It goes without saying that the outcome has been rather different. The Prime Minister failed to secure a parliamentary majority and Britain has been left with a hung parliament.
Making his prediction at 4.30pm on Thursday, Morgan tweeted: "Prediction: Conservatives will win by 90-100 seat majority."
But Lord Alan Sugar, the business mogul whom Morgan has had an ongoing public feud with, questioned Morgan’s confidence.
The Apprentice star chipped in: “We will see who is advising you of this mystic meg”.
Morgan then touted his prediction again just minutes before the exit poll closed, saying: “As exit poll looms, I repeat my prediction: Conservatives to win by 90-100 seat majority.”
After the shock exit polls came in and indicated Britain was heading for a hung parliament, Lord Sugar was unable to restrain himself, saying: “You seem to have it wrong Piersy”.
The controversial columnist had been well off the mark with his prognosis but somehow managed to blame the mistake on Lord Sugar.
Other critics have chimed in to correct Morgan on his miscalculation, using it as an example of why people should not listen to his predictions.
“Not good at the prediction lark then!” said Mark Bradshaw.
“Go on Piers Morgan repeat it again. Go on..,” quipped Simon Le Vans.
“Looks like you may be out by approximately 90-100 seats,” chipped in another.
Ms May's decision to call a snap election has resulted in a seriously disastrous result for her. With just one seat left to be called, the Conservatives have 318 seats while Labour currently have 261 - with 326 required for a majority.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Morgan has confessed that he missed the mark, later saying: “I think Mr Corbyn has proved a lot of people, including me, completely wrong.”
He applauded the Labour leader for the result and argued he had fought the “best campaign” so wholly deserved his party’s election performance.
“As with Trump, the more viciously media beat up Corbyn the more popular he became. #Ge2017,” he said.
“I assumed when push came to ballot box shove, Britain would vote (as usual) with its wallets. It didn't...”
Mr Corbyn, who increased his majority in his own constituency of Islington North by 10,430 votes, has called for Ms May to stand down as Prime Minister.
During his victory speech in his north London constituency, he said: “The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.
“I would have thought that’s enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country.”
Nevertheless, Ms May has made it clear she is intent on attempting to clutch on to power despite of course failing to secure a Commons majority and mounting calls from both senior Labour and Tory figures for her to step aside.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments