The funny and awkward moments from general election night

From chat about chickens to an MP finding out he was about to lose his job live on air, election night viewers have once again seen the pitfalls of live TV

Results are coming in from constituencies across the country as the general election exit poll shows the Labour Party is on course for one of the biggest Commons majorities in history.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party is expected to win 410 seats while Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are set to fall to 131 seats, down from 365 five years ago when Boris Johnson secured a 80-seat majority.

As politicians and journalists react feverishly to the shock result, election fever has once again proven to be highly contagious and there have been a series of funny and awkward moments as MPs clash on TV and Tories face difficult questions.

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Here, The Independent looks at the funniest moments from the election night coverage.

Clive Myrie’s chicken chat

In a bizarre exchange, BBC presenter Clive Myrie asked deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner “what kind of chickens” she is counting as she reacted to the exit poll.

"I'm not counting my chickens until we've got those results coming in," Ms Rayner said.

Mr Myrie replied: “Angela Rayner, Clive Myrie here, you say you're not counting your chickens, what kind of chickens might they be? What kind of chickens would you like to see in a future job description in a Kier Starmer government?”

Nadine Dorries and Alastair Campbell clash over Boris Johnson

Nadine Dorries, the former culture minister, branded Alastair Campbell "sexist" after he told her she needs to “get over” Boris Johnson.

The fiery clash began when the panel were discussing who was responsible for the Conservative Party’s historic defeat.

Ms Dorries responded: “Actually I find that to be quite a sexist comment!”

Mr Campbell replied: “It really isn’t, you seem to think Boris Johnson is still an electoral asset. Rishi Sunak wheeling him out on the eve of the election was one of his many mistakes.”

Steve Baker learns live on air that he has 1% chance of winning vote

Steve Baker was told live on air that he has only a 1 per cent chance of winning his seat.

The Northern Ireland minister has been the MP for Wycombe since 2010, but the exit poll has predicted that he will lose his seat.

Mr Baker was told by the BBC that his chances of holding on were near impossible, as he was sitting in the London studio live as the exit poll emerged.

Exit poll met with questionable noises on Sky News

As the exit poll came in on Sky News, the opening scenes were met with some strange noises.

Kay Burley along with the Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham made sounds of shock and awe as the poll indicated that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party was forecast a landslide.

Wes Streeting’s extended nautical metaphor

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting fumbled his words as he made a point about how Keir Starmer has reformed the Labour Party, making it “ship-shape”.

The blunder happened soon after the exit poll showed Labour was on course for one of the biggest Commons majorities in history. 

He told the BBC: “The only reason we have sails on the ship, and the ship is ship shape, is because Keir Starmer took the vessel from a shipwreck in 2019 and made it ship shape and seaworthy.”