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UK鈥檚 Tories win decisive majority in election dominated by Brexit

Led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Conservatives exited U.K. elections with a strong majority of 364 seats, their best result since the 1980s.

First Look

Prime Minister Boris Johnson鈥檚 Conservative Party has won a thumping majority of seats in Britain鈥檚 Parliament 鈥� a decisive outcome to a Brexit-dominated election that should allow Mr. Johnson to fulfill his plan to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union next month.

With 649 of the 650 results declared on Friday, the Conservatives had 364 seats and the main opposition Labour Party 203.

鈥淲e did it 鈥� we pulled it off, didn鈥檛 we?鈥欌�� a jubilant Mr.聽Johnson told supporters. 鈥淲e broke the gridlock, we ended the deadlock, we smashed the roadblock!鈥�

A few hours later, Mr.聽Johnson was whisked to Buckingham Palace to meet with Queen Elizabeth II as part of the constitutional ritual of forming a new government. He is the 14th prime minister to be asked by the monarch to form a government.聽

Mr.聽Johnson鈥檚 victory paves the way for Britain鈥檚 departure from the European Union by Jan. 31.

The victory makes聽Mr.聽Johnson聽the most electorally successful Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher, another politician who was loved and loathed in almost equal measure. It was a disaster for left-wing Labour leader聽Jeremy Corbyn, who faced calls for his resignation even as the results rolled in.

U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Mr.聽Johnson on Twitter, and said that 鈥淏ritain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new trade deal after Brexit.鈥�

Mr.聽Corbyn called the result 鈥渧ery disappointing鈥� for his party and said he would not lead Labour into another election, though he said he would lead a period of 鈥渞eflection鈥欌�� rather than quit immediately.聽

Results poured in early Friday showing a substantial shift in support to the Conservatives from Labour. In the last election in 2017, the Conservatives won 318 seats and Labour 262.

The result this time delivered the biggest Tory majority since Thatcher鈥檚 1980s heyday, and Labour鈥檚 lowest number of seats since 1935.聽

The Scottish National Party won almost 50 of Scotland鈥檚 59 seats, up from 35 in 2017, a result that will embolden its demands for a new referendum on Scottish independence.

The centrist, pro-EU Liberal Democrats took only about a dozen seats. Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson stepped down after losing in her own Scottish constituency.

The Conservatives took a swath of seats in post-industrial northern England towns that were long Labour strongholds. Labour鈥檚 vote held up better in London, where the party managed to grab the Putney seat from the Conservatives.

The decisive Conservative showing vindicates Mr.聽Johnson鈥檚 decision to press for Thursday鈥檚 early election, which was held nearly two years ahead of schedule. He said that if the Conservatives won a majority, he would get Parliament to ratify his Brexit divorce deal and take the U.K. out of the EU by the current Jan. 31 deadline.

Speaking at the election count in his Uxbridge constituency in suburban London, Mr.聽Johnson said the 鈥渉istoric鈥� election 鈥済ives us now, in this new government, the chance to respect the democratic will of the British people to change this country for the better, and to unleash the potential of the entire people of this country.鈥�

That message appears to have had strong appeal for Brexit-supporting voters, who turned away from Labour in the party鈥檚 traditional heartlands and embraced Mr.聽Johnson鈥檚 promise that the Conservatives would 鈥済et Brexit done.鈥�

鈥淚 think Brexit has dominated, it has dominated everything by the looks of it,鈥� said Labour economy spokesman John McDonnell. 鈥淲e thought other issues could cut through and there would be a wider debate. From this evidence there clearly wasn鈥檛.鈥�

The prospect of Brexit finally happening more than three years after Britons narrowly voted to leave the EU marks a momentous shift for both the U.K. and the bloc. No country has ever left the union, which was created in the decades after World War II to bring unity to a shattered continent.

But a decisive Conservative victory would also provide some relief to the EU, which has grown tired of Britain鈥檚 Brexit indecision.

Britain鈥檚 departure will start a new phase of negotiations on future relations between Britain and the 27 remaining EU members.

EU Council President Charles Michel promised that聽EU leaders meeting Friday聽would send a 鈥渟trong message鈥� to the next British government and parliament about聽next steps.聽

鈥淲e are ready to negotiate,鈥� European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The pound surged when an exit poll forecast the Tory win, jumping over two cents against the dollar, to $1.3445, the highest in more than a year and a half. Many investors hope the Conservative win will speed up the Brexit process and ease, at least in the short term, some of the uncertainty that has corroded business confidence since the 2016 vote.

Many voters聽casting ballots聽on Thursday hoped the election might finally find a way out of the Brexit stalemate in this deeply divided nation. Three and a half years after the U.K. voted by 52%-48% to leave the EU, Britons remain split over whether to leave the 28-nation bloc, and lawmakers have proved incapable of agreeing on departure terms.

Opinion polls had given the Conservatives a steady lead, but the result was considered hard to predict, because the issue of Brexit cuts across traditional party loyalties.

Mr.聽Johnson campaigned relentlessly on a promise to 鈥淕et Brexit done鈥� by getting Parliament to ratify his 鈥渙ven-ready鈥� divorce deal with the EU and take Britain out of the bloc as scheduled on Jan. 31.

The Conservatives focused much of their energy on trying to win in a 鈥渞ed wall鈥� of working-class towns in central and northern England that have elected Labour lawmakers for decades but also voted strongly in 2016 to leave the EU. That effort got a boost when the Brexit Party led by Nigel Farage decided at the last minute not to contest 317 Conservative-held seats to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote.

Labour, which is largely but ambiguously pro-EU, faced competition for anti-Brexit voters from the centrist Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties, and the Greens.

But on the whole Labour tried to focus the campaign away from Brexit and onto its radical domestic agenda, vowing to tax the rich, nationalize industries such as railroads and water companies, and give everyone in the country free internet access. It campaigned heavily on the future of the National Health Service, a deeply respected institution that has struggled to meet rising demand after nine years of austerity under Conservative-led governments.

Senior Johnson aide Dominic Cummings said that the opponents of the Conservatives just weren鈥檛 listening to the public outside London.

鈥淎fter the shock of the referendum, MPs and journalists should have taken a deep breath and had a lot of self-reflection of why they misunderstood what was going on in the country, but instead a lot of people just doubled down on their own ideas,鈥� Mr.聽Cummings told Press Association.聽

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why something like this happens against expectations.鈥�

Defeat will likely spell the end for Mr.聽Corbyn, a veteran socialist who moved his party sharply to the left after taking the helm in 2015, but who now looks to have led his left-of-center party to two electoral defeats since 2017. The 70-year-old left-winger was also accused of allowing anti-Semitism to spread within the party.

鈥淚t鈥檚 Corbyn,鈥� said former Labour Cabinet minister Alan Johnson, when asked about the poor result. 鈥淲e knew he was incapable of leading, we knew he was worse than useless at all the qualities you need to lead a political party.鈥�

For many voters, the election offered an unpalatable choice. Both Messrs. Johnson and Corbyn have personal approval ratings in negative territory, and both have been dogged by questions about their character.

Mr.聽Johnson has been confronted with past broken promises, untruths, and offensive statements, from calling the children of single mothers 鈥渋gnorant, aggressive and illegitimate鈥� to comparing Muslim women who wear face-covering veils to 鈥渓etter boxes.鈥�

Yet, his energy and determination proved persuasive to many voters.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a big relief, looking at the exit polls as they are now, we鈥檝e finally got that majority a working majority that we have not had for 3 1/2 years,鈥� said Conservative-supporting writer Jack Rydeheard. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got the opportunity to get Brexit done and get everything else that we promised as well. That鈥檚 investment in the NHS, schools, hospitals you name it 鈥� it鈥檚 finally a chance to break that deadlock in Parliament.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽Gregory Katz, Sheila Norman-Culp, and Jo Kearney in London; and Angela Charlton, Raf Casert, and Adam Pemble in Brussels contributed to this report.