Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated his campaign pledge to "get Brexit done" during a victory rally in central London on Friday, where he made digs at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and remain voters in the country.
“With this election, we have put to end all those miserable threats of a second referendum.”
“And I say respectfully to our friend in the blue twelve-star hat that’s it time to put a sock in the megaphone and give everybody some peace,” he said.
He reiterated the pledge to get the country out of the European Union by January 31 and deliver “the democratic mandate of the people” and celebrated what he said was the biggest majority for the Conservatives since the 1980s.
Johnson added that he was humbled that voters in longstanding Labour constituencies “have put your trust in me and that you have put your trust in us and we will never take your support for granted.”
"With this election, we have put to an end all those miserable threats of a second referendum."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks following a decisive victory in the UK General Election: https://t.co/PJa0onUV3r pic.twitter.com/bshzsGYr0a
— CNN International (@cnni) December 13, 2019
The Conservatives have won at least 326 seats in Thursday's election – an absolute majority in the UK Parliament. Here are some key takeaways:
Big Tory win
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative party will now take a commanding majority into the next five-year Parliament. With a manifesto that was light on detail, little is known about what Johnson is planning to do, beyond taking Britain out of the European Union.
Labour in the doldrums
The UK's largest opposition party has lost many seats in its former heartlands — several for the first time in more than a century.
During a disastrous evening, leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he would stand aside before the next election.
One MP has already thrown her hat into the ring to succeed the Labour leader. Jess Phillips, a centrist MP who has been a frequent critic of Corbyn's leftist movement, suggested she will stand in a future leadership contest.
Huge win for Scottish nationalism
It was an extremely successful election for the Scottish National Party who are on course to win most of the 59 seats in Scotland. Such a strong showing could eventually spell the end of the United Kingdom, with the SNP surely set to use its big win as leverage to push for a second independence referendum.
Big fish booted out
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson lost her seat in East Dunbartonshire, and her party failed to make any inroads on a national level.
In Northern Ireland, the DUP's Westminster leader Nigel Dodds also lost his seat.
Dominic Grieve and Anna Soubry, Conservative MPs who quit or were sacked from the party by Johnson, also suffered defeats.
Tactical voting fails
Talk of tactical voting failed to materialize in key constituencies, including Chingford and Wood Green. Had they voted together, Labour and Liberal Democrat voters could have kicked out the incumbent MP, former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, but he managed to cling on with a majority of 1,262 votes.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats split the vote in the Cities of London and Westminster, leading to the defeat of Labour defector Chuka Umunna, who had criticized Jeremy Corbyn's leadership and left to join the Lib Dems.
Brexit is back on track
The result clears the way for Johnson to take the UK out of the EU in January; European officials say they're “ready for the next steps.”
