Johnson's Conservative Party was criticized for using misleading tactics on social media, while Corbyn's Labour Party sought to win votes by promising to tax the rich, boost government spending and nationalize industries such as railroads and water companies.
One of the focal points of the ugly campaign was the National Health Service, a deeply respected institution that has struggled to meet rising demand after nine years of austerity under Conservative-led governments, news agency AP had reported.
The election is being held two years ahead of its schedule where all 650 seats in the House of Commons are in fray.
A record 15 Indian-origin politicians entered the UK's House of Commons on Friday after a historic election won by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Indian-origin candidates across both the ruling Conservative and Opposition Labour parties registered equally strong results of seven wins each in the UK's General Election on Thursday, with around a dozen MPs retaining their seats alongside some new faces, taking their number in the UK's lower house up to 15. Prime Minister Johnson's emphatic victory set the UK on course for an exit from the European Union (EU) next month. The new Parliament voted in also produced the most diverse Parliament ever, with one in 10 MPs now from an ethnic minority background. All the MPs from the previous Parliament contesting this time were successful in clinching their seats, with Gagan Mohindra and Claire Coutinho for the Conservative Party, Navendru Mishra for Labour and Munira Wilson for the Liberal Democrats among the first-timers. (PTI)
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won the biggest parliamentary majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987, and Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced that the government will, as the Conservative Party repeatedly promised during the campaign, move quickly to “get Brexit done” — “Get it done before Christmas, introduce the legislation and get that moving in Parliament”. Read more
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Indian-origin candidates across both the Conservative and Labour parties on Friday registered strong results in the UK's general election, with around a dozen MPs retaining their seats alongside some new faces.
All the Indian-origin MPs from the previous Parliament were successful in clinching their seats, with Gagan Mohindra and Claire Coutinho for the Conservative Party and Navendru Mishra for Labour among the first-timers. Click here to know more.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would leave the European Union on Jan. 31 after his sweeping election win. "We will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes," Johnson said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party won a commanding majority in the British Parliament, a striking victory that redraws the lines in British politics and paves the way for the country’s exit from the European Union early next year.
The Conservatives were projected to win 363 seats in the House of Commons, versus 203 for the Labour Party, according to the BBC, with almost all of Parliament’s seats decided. That would give the Conservatives about a 75-seat majority, their largest since that amassed by Margaret Thatcher in 1987. Click here to know more.
"Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great WIN! Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT. This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris!" US President Donald Trump tweeted.
"Congratulations Boris Johnson on a resounding victory and being returned as UK PM. Looking forward to the stability this brings and a new deal for Oz with the UK. Say g’day to the quiet Britons for us," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted.
"Many congratulations to Boris Johnson for his return with a thumping majority. I wish him the best and look forward to working together for closer India-UK ties," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives have won an outright majority in parliament, news agency Reuters reported.The official exit poll projected the Conservatives would win a total of 368 seats.
Johnson, 55, said the victory would give him a mandate to "get Brexit done" and take the UK out of the EU next month.
The British pound surged more than 2% on Thursday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party looked set for a decisive election victory that markets believe makes an orderly exit from the European Union all but certain.
Sterling's dramatic gains saw it reach a 19-month high versus the dollar and its strongest levels against the euro since shortly after the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Its jump - as much as 2.5% - versus the dollar put it on course for one of its biggest one-day gains since the 1990s. (Reuters)
According to a PTI report, the latest projections put the Johnson-led Conservatives at around 357, lower than the initial 368 but still well clear of the 326-seat half-way mark required for a majority in the House of Commons.
US President Donald Trump said it was looking like "a big win" for Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the British election.
"Looking like a big win for Boris in the UK!" Trump tweeted.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Friday said that the people of Britain have given a "powerful new mandate" to his Conservative party to deliver Brexit and unite the nation, AFP reported.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said things seemed to be going in the right direction when he arrived to hear the result of his own electoral vote in the west London seat of Uxbridge, Reuters reported.
Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would not lead the party into the next election after admitting it had been a "very disappointing night," news agency Reuters reported.
"This is obviously a very disappointing night for the Labour Party with the result that we've got," Corbyn said after winning his north London electoral seat.
"I will not lead the party in any future general election campaign," he said, adding that the party needed to reflect and that he would lead the party as it discussed its future.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives have made a net gain of 10 seats so far. Most results are expected between 0200 and 0500 GMT, news agency Reuters reported.
"I hope you enjoy a celebration tonight," he said in an email to party members. "You powered this campaign. We couldn’t have done it without you."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced calls to quit on Friday, after equivocation over Brexit and his limited personal appeal contributed to a collapse in traditional strongholds and what looks like his party's worst election defeat in 84 years, Reuters reported.
Labour candidate Gareth Snell said he expected to lose his parliamentary seat in Stoke-on-Trent, a city once regarded as a Labour stronghold, and made clear that he wanted Corbyn to take responsibility for the party's poor performance.
An exit poll and early results showed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party were set for a resounding victory in Britain's election, allowing him to deliver Brexit on Jan. 31.
Boris Johnson's expected election victory was welcomed by European leaders as it provided clarity on Britain's withdrawal from the EU. The leaders, however, said it would be challenging to agree on a post-Brexit trade deal by the end of 2020. Exit polls showed Johnson's Conservative Party would enjoy a majority of 86 seats in the 650-seat British parliament.
"It is a very clear result - it will not change by tomorrow morning," Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven was quoted as saying by Reuters in Brussels after the first day of an EU summit.
"It means that we will move forward with our separation now. We now have 11 months to hash out a deal (on the future trade agreement). It's a very short time," he said.
“This has been a hard-fought election in a very cold time of the year because we needed a functioning Conservative majority,” Priti Patel, the senior-most Indian-origin minister in Johnson's last Cabinet, said in response to the exit poll.
“We are committed to deliver on priorities and getting Brexit done is a priority. The deal is there, we want to move forward,” she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The British pound soared to multi-year highs on Thursday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party looked set for a big parliamentary majority that markets believe means an orderly exit from the European Union.
Sterling's dramatic gains saw it reach a 19-month high versus the dollar and its strongest levels against the euro since shortly after the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Its 2.5% jump versus the dollar put it on course for one of its biggest one-day gains since the 1990s. (REUTERS)
As per exit polls, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party looks set for a resounding victory in Britain’s election.
The Conservatives have won the Blyth Valley seat from Labour for the first time since its creation in 1950, as per BBC reports.
Gloria De Piero, who was standing down as an MP for the Labour party, wrote on Twitter:
Chi Onwurah wins as first result comes in Labour’s Chi Onwurah has held the Newcastle upon Tyne Central constituency for Labour, though with a reduced majority, as the first declaration comes in, as per The Guardian. Here’s the result in full:
Chi Onwurah (Labour) 21,568
Emily Payne (Conervative) 9,290
Ali Avaei (Liberal Democrat) 2,709
Mark Griffin (Brexit party) 2,542
Tay Pitman (Green party) 1,365
Leading the exit polls are the Conservatives with majority votes of 368, followed by the Labour Party with 191 votes.
Here is the full list of exit poll results:
Conservatives: 368
Labour: 191
SNP: 55
Liberal Democrats: 13
Plaid Cymru: 3
Greens: 1
Brexit party: 0
Others: 22
Yet again, the quirky tradition of clicking pictures of dogs outside polling stations has caught up with voters in the UK, which went to elections for the third time in four years.
As millions of people stepped out on Thursday to cast their franchise, which will decide who among their leaders would solve the Brexit muddle, many were accompanied by their pooches at the polling booths.
Using hashtag #dogsatpollingstations, many voters took to social media to share pictures of their pets outside polling booths. Read more
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg urged the UK to look beyond Brexit. Every election is a climate election. Vote for your children. Vote for the planet. Vote for future generations. Vote for humanity," Thunberg tweeted the day after Time magazine selected her as its youngest ever Person of the Year.
A 48-year-old man has been arrested after a suspicious device was found near a polling station in North Lanarkshire, BBC reported. The police said the device was discovered on the ground floor of Glen Tower flats in Motherwell on Thursday.
The Conservative Party has been deeply divided over the Brexit question, but right now Johnson is asking for a large vote ‘to get Brexit done’. He has negotiated a deal and he needs a comfortable majority to get it through the House of Commons. In his weekly column, Meghnad Desai writes whether UK can bear more of Brexit debate.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon votes in the general election in Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, December 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was not alone when he cast his vote in Britain's general election on Thursday morning. His dog, Dilyn, came with him.
A similar trend was followed by a number of other political leaders and common folk who walked their pets to the polling booths.
-Reach net zero emission by 2030 by investing £100bn a year
-Increase funding for the NHS by at least £6bn per year, until 2030
-Oppose Brexit and hold another referendum on membership and will campaign to remain in that vote
-Waive university tuition fee and write-off existing student debt
-Increase the health budget by 4.3% a year
-Hold a second referendum on Brexit
-Nationalise key industries, including six big energy firms, National Grid, and Royal Mail
-Introduce a minimum wager of a £10-an-hour for all workers
-Freeze state pension age at 66
-Increase the number of nurses by 50,000
-Get Brexit done by January 31, 2020
-No rise in income tax, VAT or National Insurance
-Pensions will rise by at least 2.5% per year
-Australian style points-based immigration system
-20,000 more police officers over the next three years in England and Wales
The Labour Party's manifesto for the UK election promises to issue an apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. It also includes a pledge to institute an audit into the country’s colonial past.
Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Theresa May had stopped short of a formal apology when she expressed “deep regret” for the colonial misadventure on its 100th anniversary.
Over the years, issues relating to India have found mention in many election manifestos in the UK. In the 1945 election, India’s freedom had been a campaign promise of the Labour party, its manifesto pledging “the advancement of India to responsible self-government”. Read more
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised that if the Conservatives win the British polls, he will get the Brexit done by January 31, 2020.
Any party with more than half the MPs (326) in the Commons usually forms the government. If no party has a majority of MPs, the one with the most can form a coalition, with one or more other parties to gain control.
Any party with more than half the MPs (326) in the Commons usually forms the government. If no party has a majority of MPs, the one with the most can form a coalition, with one or more other parties to gain control.
Johnson, Conservative Party: The Prime Minister, whose full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, is 55, and one of Britain’s premier Brexiteers, who has promised to “unleash the potential of the whole UK”. He has asked voters for a clear majority in order to “get Brexit done” by quickly passing his deal, so that the UK can be out of the EU next month.
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party: He has been leader of Labour since 2015, describes himself as a socialist, and is frequently seen as being a bit too left-wing, with unworkably radical foreign policy opinions. He is also rather unpopular — perhaps more than Johnson, who is not very popular himself. Click here to know more.
The system is similar to India’s. Voters will choose representatives for 650 seats in the House of Commons. All British, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth citizens who are 18 years of age, living in Britain, and who had registered by the deadline of November 26, will vote. Voting will be by ballot papers at polling booths or by postal ballots, or by proxy under certain circumstances.
Polls will open at 7 am local time and close at 10 pm. Results of an exit poll, which is far more reliable than in India, will be announced soon after polls close. Official results will come in as ballot papers are counted through the night. Like in India, the UK has a first-past-the-post system, and the candidate who wins the largest number of votes in a particular constituency will become its MP.
A total of 3,322 candidates are standing across the 650 seats in the House of Commons this year. Polling stations at all constituencies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland opened at 07:00 GMT (12:30 IST).
Voters in the United Kingdom today began voting — once again — in an election that will either pave the way for Brexit under Prime Minister Boris Johnson or propel the country towards another referendum that could reverse the decision to leave the European Union.