Labour Party set for landslide win in UK election — exit poll

In a historic and decisive shift in the UK's political landscape, the Labour Party has secured a commanding majority of 410 seats in the 650-seat Parliament, according to exit poll.

The landmark victory in the country's general election on Thursday brings an end to 14 years of Conservative rule, a period marked by significant political and economic challenges.

The Labour landslide means the party will have a majority of 170 seats in the Parliament, polls prepared by IPSOS UK for British broadcasters show, and Labour leader Keir Starmer will replace Rishi Sunak as the new prime minister.

The centre-right Conservatives governed the country since 2010. Having secured victories in the last three general elections—2015, 2017 and 2019 — the party on Thursday is predicted to win 131 seats.

Millions of voters across the UK cast their ballots to elect Members of Parliament (or MPs) to the lower house of Parliament.

With the electorate's clear call for a new direction, the Labour Party's triumph is poised to usher in a new era of governance, addressing key issues such as economic inequality, public services, and the UK's role on the global stage.

As the final results are awaited, the political world watches closely, anticipating the impact of this pivotal election on the nation's future.

British voters voted in the country's first parliamentary election since 2019, when Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party secured a landslide victory.

Since that triumph, the Conservative Party has experienced significant turbulence, with Liz Truss resigning after just 44 days as prime minister and being succeeded by the current leader, Rishi Sunak.

The exit poll also forecasts the left-of-centre Liberal Democrats will take 61 seats, and Nigel Farage's right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK, which currently does not have any seats, is set to take 13 seats. The Green Party is expected to take 2.

The Scottish National Party, SNP, are expected to secure 10 seats.

Most of the results are expected to be announced in the early hours of Friday.

Mood of Scottish voters

Starmer has steered his party towards the centre to attract middle-ground voters, a strategic shift from his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, who had pushed the party further to the left.

"Britain's future was on the ballot at this election. And, if we are successful tonight, Labour will get to work immediately with our first steps for change," Pat McFadden, Labour's campaign coordinator said in statement.

It was not just the Conservatives whose vote was predicted to have collapsed.

The pro-independence SNP was forecast to win only 10 seats, its worst showing since 2010, after a period of turmoil which has seen two leaders quit in little over a year, a police investigation into the party's finances and splits on a range of policies.

Nothing seems to be going right for the SNP, which has dominated the devolved nation's politics for the last 15 years.

"Outcome looks like an absolute bloodbath for the Scottish National Party," TRT World's Claire Herriot reporting from Glasgow, said.

"The caveat I must mention, with Scotland is that some of these seats have been really too close to call, so it will be interesting to see just how accurate that is. The SNP will be hoping that it's not accurate that it's been an underestimation of their result," she said.

In the last six UK elections, only one exit poll has got the outcome wrong — in 2015 when the poll predicted a hung Parliament when in fact the Conservatives won a majority.