Election results – live: Boris Johnson says NHS will be priority as he reaches out to Remainers following historic win

Follow all the latest updates

General election 2019: Boris Johnson arrives at Downing Street

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.

Key Points

• Johnson vows to get Brexit done 'no ifs, no buts'
• Labour figures call on Corbyn to quit immediately
• ...but Corbyn says he won't leave until 'early part of next year'
• Swinson loses seat, leading Sturgeon to celebrate wildly
• 'End of Corbynism,' claims David Cameron
• PM promises 'permanent break from talking about Brexit' in Downing Street speech
• ...while adding the 'overwhelming priority of the British people' is a 'focus... on the NHS'.

[12 December 2019 11:43 · Ashley Cowburn]

Jeremy Corbyn votes in general election

[12 December 2019 11:57 · Ashley Cowburn]

Arrest made after suspicious device found at polling station

A man has been arrested after a suspicious device was found at a polling station in Motherwell, Scotland.

A bomb squad were called to the Glen Tower flats around 1am on Thursday morning.

They carried out a controlled explosion as a precaution and determined it was a “non-viable device”.

[12 December 2019 12:20 · Ashley Cowburn]

Are selfies allowed at polling stations? And can you vote with pencil?

Polling day brings with it a special set of rules and regulations to ensure that voting takes place in a free and fair atmosphere.

Still not sure exactly how it works? Double-check your queries here

[12 December 2019 12:37 · Lizzy Buchan]

Voters wade through flood after water main bursts near London polling station​

In Bermondsey, south-east London, a burst water main caused deep flooding in the area, leading some voters to decide to leave and return later.

[12 December 2019 12:57 · Lizzy Buchan]

Best photos of dogs at polling stations across the UK

As polling stations opened on Thursday morning for what is being billed as the most important election in a generation, social media became awash with pictures of dogs.

The tradition of taking photos of pets obediently waiting for their owners to vote at polling stations is a trend that has taken the internet by storm in recent elections thanks to the #dogsatpollingstations hashtag.

And, while the third general election in five years has prompted much political exhaustion, it’s safe to say the viral trend is warming people’s hearts everywhere. 

[12 December 2019 13:30 · Lizzy Buchan]

Final Say campaigners warn a Tory majority will destroy chance of a second referendum

The Vote for a Final Say campaign has created a bleak video imagining what would happen if the Conservatives win a majority - and how Remain voters could help the PM win if they don't vote tactically.

[12 December 2019 13:50 · Ashley Cowburn]

Who should I vote for in the general election? A guide to all party manifestos in the UK

[12 December 2019 14:10 · Ashley Cowburn]

One in four voters could still change their minds, eve-of-poll survey shows

Almost one in four voters remain undecided over which way to cast their ballot as the country heads to the polls for one of the most important elections in a generation.

The final Ipsos Mori poll puts Boris Johnson on course for an historic win, with 44 per cent of voters backing the Conservatives, 33 per cent for Labour and 12 per cent for the Liberal Democrats. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party has been squeezed to just 2 per cent, with the Greens on 3 per cent.

If the prediction is accurate, the Tories would win the largest share of the vote at an election since Margaret Thatcher's first victory in 1979.

[12 December 2019 14:30 · Ashley Cowburn]

Editorial: This election campaign has been nothing but a disappointment filled with fakery 

"Even allowing for the way that politics has always been a dirty business, few general elections have been as disappointing as this one. Given the scale of the challenges facing the nation, and the momentous nature of the decisions that will be taken in the coming months and years, the dismal standard of debate, and in particular the prevalence of so much deliberately misleading and fraudulent material online has been deeply dispiriting. Our politics, with rare exceptions, have certainly failed to rise to the occasion."

[12 December 2019 14:45 · Ashley Cowburn]

General election: does the weather hold the key to who wins? - Sean O'Grady

One of the great unknowns in the general election (arguably, in fact, actually one of the few, given the Tories’ consistent and substantial lead) is turnout. Not since 1923 have we had an election in December; and not since 1974 have we had to go the polls in winter. The precedents are a bit sketchy, but it could private an important variable in this election.