Election results – live: Boris Johnson says NHS will be priority as he reaches out to Remainers following historic win
Follow all the latest updates
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
Boris Johnson has said he will make the NHS an "overwhelming priority" during his renewed tenure in No. 10 following a political “earthquake” which which saw Labour support give way top a comfortable Tory majority.
However he has not extended the same olive branch to voters north of the border - telling Nicola Sturgeon he would not lend any support to a second independence referendum.
Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn has refused to take responsibility for the worst Labour showing since 1935 - blaming Brexit for the party’s devastating defeat.
Chris Williamson loses his deposit
Former Labour MP Chris Williamson, who stood as an independent, lost his deposit in Derby North after winning just 635 votes.
Williamson was suspended back in February after he claimed Labour had been “too apologetic” over its handling of antisemitism. Labour’s ruling NEC later decided he couldn’t stand for the party.
Tory candidate Amanda Solloway won with a majority of just over 2,500 over her Labour rival.
SNP: Handing over indyref2 powers ‘right thing to do’
The UK has been left in a “constitutional crisis,” SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has warned as he insisted the “right thing” for the PM to do would be to permit a second vote on Scottish independence.
Blackford refused to say if the SNP would take legal action if Boris Johnson fails to grant a Section 30 order, giving Holyrood the power to hold such a ballot.
But he said that the PM “simply can’t continue to say no” to a request - claiming this would be an “affront to democracy”.
Blackford was one of 48 SNP MPs elected, with Nicola Sturgeon’s party having its second best ever result in a Westminster ballot.
While the Tories gained seats south of the border, in Scotland they lost seven of the 13 seats they had held, ending up with six MPs.
While SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plans to formally request the power to hold a second independence vote within days, the Tory leader has repeatedly stated he will block this.
He said: “In light of the fact that the Scottish Government already has a mandate, in light of the stunning result we have had in the election this week, it is right that the Government in London recognises the right thing to do is to transfer that power.”
SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford (PA)
Who will be the next Labour leader?
Jeremy Corbyn made clear he would “not lead” Labour in any future general election campaign, meaning the battle for the future of the party is already way.
We’ve taken a look at some of the main runners and riders to succeed him.
‘Are you hallucinating?’: Andrew Neil takes on Mark Francois
One of the strangest moments of election night when Mark Francois attempted to give us a history lesson. “In 1989 Russia’s Berlin Wall came down – in 2019 Labour’s red wall came down,” he said on the BBC.
Host Andrew Neil scoffed at the idea the opposition’s northern heartlands were “analogous to a wall of a totalitarian state… are you hallucinating?”
Varadkar urges Johnson to look to ‘next step’ in Brexit process
The Irish premier Leo Varadkar has congratulated Boris Johnson on his election victory and urged him to get on with Brexit legislation.
“The next step is to ratify the withdrawal agreement which guarantees no hard border between North and South, guarantees the protection of the common travel area,” he said.
‘Celebrate Boris!’ – Trump enjoys Tory win
Donald Trump has hailed Boris Johnson’s election victory. He claims the two countries are now “free” to strike a “massive” trade deal after Brexit. He also exclaimed: “Celebrate Boris!”
‘You were warned’ – Momentum chief challenged on what went wrong
Laura Parker, the national coordinator of the Corbynista group Momentum, has struggled to explain the scale of the Labour loss.
The BBC’s Emily Maitlis asked: “You were warned so many times, so often, in such clear language, from you own MPs, from people who defected, from voters on the doorstep – what part of that could you not hear?”
Challenged on why Labour lost two and a half million voters since 2017, Parker said she hoped the party would “get them back again when Brexit is done”.
‘Brexit will now happen’: EU chief responds to Tory win
Guy Verhofstadf, the EU parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, has declared that the UK will soon be leaving the EU. “The EU must now focus on building a new close, fair and lasting partnership with Britain. It is in our common interest,” he tweeted.
It’s worth noting that the PM’s former spokesperson Alison Donnelly is among those who have pointed out the scale of the majority ends Johnson’s reliance on the European Research Group (ERG) in the Tory party – and might allow him to go for a “softer” Brexit next year.
‘It’s always party before country with you lot isn’t it?’
Among the more entertaining election night clashes involved Michael Gove and Nigel Farage, who appeared together on BBC Radio 4.
The cabinet minister refused to thank the Brexit Party leader for his decision to stand down candidates in seats the Tories won last time, sparking a furious reaction from Farage.
Gove said: “The people I most want to thank are all those who helped fight for a Conservative victory – the candidates who stood, the activists who worked so hard and the voters who appear to have supported us.”
Farage replied: “It’s always party before country with you lot isn’t it? … I wouldn’t expect anybody in the Conservative Party to thanks anybody – they only think about themselves.”
‘End of Corbynism,’ says David Cameron
The former prime minister David Cameron has welcomed the Conservatives’ election victory.
“It’s an extraordinary result, a powerful result. It marks the end of Corbyn and Corbynism, and that's a very good thing for the country,” he told ITV News, before saying Boris Johnson will have his “full support”.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments