UK exit polls predict landslide win for PM Johnson and a Tory-style Brexit

Exit polls for the recently concluded elections in the United Kingdom suggest a major landslide victory for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, much to the surprise of many of his critics. The Conservatives are expected to win 368 seats, according to the national exit poll released soon after voting stations around Britain closed at 10 pm London time. A party needs a minimum of 322 seats to control the 650-seat House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament.

Such a landslide victory, if it happens, will give PM Johnson enough political capital to push through his Brexit deal agreed with the European Union in October through Parliament. The opposition Labour Party led by veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn is projected to win a mere 191 seats. Labour had promised to renegotiate Johnson's deal and give voters another chance to rethink on their 2016 decision to leave the EU.

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Exit polls in line with opinion polls

A Conservative majority has been anyway widely anticipated, as opinion polls through much of the six-week campaign showed the Tories with a steady lead. A final major poll published Tuesday night by YouGov predicted the Conservatives would win with a 28-seat majority. The pollster said the prediction was within the margin of error and warned that a hung Parliament – or an even larger Conservative majority – is still a possibility.

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UK's third election in five years

The polls held on Thursday was UK's third general election in a little more than four years, and the second since the June 2016 Brexit referendum. While Brexit was dominant in many voters' minds on Thursday, this was not purely a Brexit election. Both the Tories and Labour laid out contrasting vision of a UK after its 44-year long EU membership is scheduled to end in January. Boris Johnson's message has been "Get Brexit Done". Labour trumpeted its socialist campaign with a pledge to nationalise several sectors like railways and tax the rich more.

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If Johnson wins, the Conservatives have promised that he will never, ever ask for another Brexit delay beyond the January 2020 Brexit deadline. Jeremy Corbyn, during his election campaign, had proposed a softer Brexit – plus the guarantee of a second referendum within six months with the option to call the whole thing off. Labour also hammered away on a theme that the prime minister and his party "just don't care" the National Health Service.

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(With inputs from agencies)