Boris Johnson has told traditional Labour voters who helped him win an 80-seat majority at the general election he would “repay your trust” during a visit to Tony Blair’s old constituency of Sedgefield.
It comes as Jeremy Corbyn faces fresh calls to stand down as Labour leader immediately, with David Blunkett condemning his “ultra-left wing sect of losers”. John McDonnell said he will not be part of the future shadow cabinet, stating: “I’ve done my bit … we’ll all go now.”
There were several arrests as hundreds of protesters came out onto the streets of the capital in the wake of Mr Johnson’s election victory, chanting “not my prime minister” and “defy Tory rule”.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live post coverage of the general election’s aftermath, after the Tories won a Commons majority of 80 – the party’s biggest victory since 1987.
PM heads north to mark ‘stonking mandate’
Boris Johnson will meet with newly-elected Conservative MPs in the north as part of a celebratory victory lap after winning a “stonking mandate” at the general election.
The PM secured an 80-seat majority and many of his gains came in Labour’s heartland areas across the North and the Midlands.
Some areas, such as Bishop Auckland in the North East, had never elected a Tory MP before Thursday.
Johnson, speaking outside No 10, said he would “work round the clock” to repay the trust of those who “voted for us for the first time” – including those whose “pencils may have wavered over the ballot and who heard the voices of their parents and their grandparents whispering anxiously in their ears”,
Johnson will make the first move to show newly-elected MPs that the concerns of their constituents will be heard with a visit on Saturday to some of those who overturned a Labour majority.
In a victory speech on Friday, Johnson recognised that there were concerns away from Brexit and, in a possible nod towards Labour voter concerns, confirmed he would prioritise the NHS.
“I believe - in fact, I know because I heard it loud and clear from every corner of the country – that the overwhelming priority of the British people now is that we should focus, above all, on the NHS, that beautiful idea that represents the best of our country,” he said.
‘Not my prime minister’ protesters march in London against PM
Hundreds of protesters came out onto the streets of the capital in the wake of Boris Johnson’s election victory. A heavy police presence was seen close to the Cenotaph in Whitehall, which was cordoned off as clashes broke out.
Demonstrators carrying placards with the slogans “No to Boris Johnson” and “Defy Tory Rule” cried out “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” and let off red smoke flares during angry protests. Some chanted “Boris Johnson: Not My Prime Minister” and “Boris, Boris, Boris: Out, Out, Out".
They travelled down Whitehall before moving towards Millbank and Horseferry Road. Others walked from outside Johnson’s Downing Street residence to Trafalgar Square and on to the theatre district, blocking traffic and drawing a heavy police presence.
Police were overheard shouting “box them in” as they tried to contain the crowds with a cordon. The Metropolitan Police confirmed two people were arrested in relation to the protest.
Boris Johnson wants ‘healing to begin’
The prime minister deployed a conciliatory tone to reach out across the political divide in his first address after cementing his landslide electoral victory.
Johnson attempted to bring former Labour voters and Remain supporters into the fold while lauding the NHS as a symbol of “the best of our country”.
Promising his “one nation” government would embrace the feelings of “warmth and sympathy” felt by remain voters towards the other nations of Europe while still “getting Brexit done”, he said: “Now is the moment, precisely as we leave the EU, to let those natural feelings find renewed expression in building a new partnership.
“I frankly urge everyone on either side of what are, after three and a half years, increasingly arid argument, I urge everyone to find closure and to let the healing begin.”
Johnson strikes conciliatory tone after landslide general election victory
‘This country deserves a break from wrangling, a break from politics, and a permanent break from talking about Brexit’Labour voters ‘defected over Corbyn, not Brexit,’ poll shows
More voters turned against Labour because of Jeremy Corbyn than Brexit, according a poll looking at the reasons behind the party’s crushing election defeat.
Pollsters Opinium found that among 2017 Labour voters, 37 per cent of them cited the leadership of the party as their main reason.
Only 21 per cent said they defected due to the party’s stance on EU membership while just six per cent said their main reason was Labour’s economic policies.
Of all respondents who said they did not vote for Labour, 43 per cent said their main reason was the leadership. A further 17 per cent placed blame with the triangulation on Brexit and 12 per cent of the economic policies put forward in Labour’s manifesto.
More details here:
More voters defected from Labour over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership than party's Brexit stance, poll finds
Despite Corbyn's claim the election 'was taken over ultimately by Brexit' just 21 per cent cited the issue as their main reason for switching partiesSadiq Khan tells Corbyn: ‘Stand down quickly’
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said Jeremy Corbyn must stand down “quickly” as Labour leader in the wake of the party’s worst result of the post-war era.
Describing the poll as a “catastrophe” for the party, Khan said for the fourth time in a row Labour had “failed” to put forward a compelling case to the British public.
“The Labour Party will have to change fundamentally in order to rise to these challenges and confront the new political reality we face,” he said.
“Jeremy Corbyn has said he will stand down, and this simply must now happen quickly. But the changes we have to make will not end with his leadership.”
It follows harsh criticism of Corbyn by senior figures in the party, including former Labour home secretaries, Alan Johnson and David Blunkett and a slew of defeated Labour candidates.
Jeremy Corbyn must stand down 'quickly after general election catastrophe', says Sadiq Khan
'We knew in our heart of hearts that Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership was deeply unpopular'McCluskey blames Remainers for Labour defeat
Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, said he believes the drift away from Labour began during the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown periods but was accelerated when the party went through a “slow motion collapse into the arms of the People’s Vote campaign”.
This alienated Labour heartland seats with “bluntly, more coalfield communities to lose than Canterburys to win”, he said.
Writing for the Huffington Post website, McCluskey urged the party to grasp that the cause of the defeat was “staring us in the face” and that it lay with too many in the party failing to accept the democratic vote to leave the European Union of 2016.
McCluskey said he accepts there were other failings in the campaign, citing both the “incontinent rush of policies” and the failure to apologise for antisemitism in the party.
He said his main argument was that too many in the party failed to accept the appeal of the Tories’ “get Brexit done” message to Leave voters who felt frustrated by parliament.
He added that this was compounded by shadow cabinet members vowing to back Remain in any second referendum, “totally undermining” Labour’s message that it would negotiate a credible Leave option to put to voters.
Britain should align with EU regulations for good deal, says MEP
Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts – a member of the European parliament’s Brexit steering committee – said whether or not the Tories can achieve a political declaration with zero tariffs on goods between the UK and the EU “depends on whether the Tory Party is, again, able to face up to its own contradictions”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lamberts said: “They want the deepest possible access to the European single market, yet they want to undercut significantly EU legislation, and you can’t have both.
“So either you want total regulatory freedom and you do whatever you like - and if you want to undercut EU legislation then you do it, but then you lose access. Or you want access and you have basically to remain aligned with EU legislation, that will be the decision that Boris Johnson will need to make.”
He added: “If the United Kingdom wants to retain full access, including for services, that will have the adverse consequence that it has to remain aligned to EU legislation in services as well, and I understand that some in the Government would want to deviate from that quite significantly.”
Trade deal with EU can be done in 2020, says ex-No 10 advisor
Raoul Ruparel, former prime minister Theresa May’s special adviser on Europe, said an agreement with the EU can be done next year, but may be limited in ambition due to the short time frame.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “I think it is possible to get a free trade agreement in place that looks at quite standard provisions on level playing fields, such as the type that the EU have done with other countries, and also offers zero tariffs.
“But I think what it’s harder to do, is what Philippe Lamberts was alluding to, is removing the regulatory barriers and the checks behind the border which would require some level of alignment of rules.
“And I think at the moment, despite his large majority, I don’t think that’s the sort of deal that Boris Johnson envisages, and it's something that he's consistently fought against.”
On whether there is a prospect that the UK could leave without an agreement, he said: “I think it is possible to get something done in the next year but I think it does limit, the short time frame does limit the level of ambition potentially, because you would be looking at a narrower and shallower deal that you might have otherwise envisaged given the speed needed.”
‘You had your chance and you fluffed it,’ Blunkett tells Corbynistas
The former Labour home secretary David Blunkett has blamed the party’s devastating defeat on Jeremy Corbyn and “ultra-left wing sect of losers”.
Blunkett, stating that an interim leader should take over in the short-term, said neither Corbyn nor his “cult-like followers” should try to put forward “another Corbyn” in the leadership contest that follows.
In a piece for The Daily Mail, the New Labour-era figure wrote: “The rump of the Corbynista cult within parliament itself should be clear in no uncertain terms that putting up another ‘Corbyn’, either male or female, is not acceptable.
“You have had your chance and you have fluffed it. You have made the offer to the British people and they have rejected it.”
Celtic fans livid at Sir Rod Stewart’s Boris tweet
Sir Rod Stewart is facing a backlash after he congratulated Boris Johnson for his election win.
The veteran singer included a “well done Boris” message in a tweet about his latest album – sparking an angry response from anti-Tory voters and Celtic suppoorters (Sir Rod is a big fan of the side).
“Well done Boris? Stay away from Celtic please,” said Ronan McGhee said.
“Don’t ever want tae see you wearing Celtic slippers again Rod...” Ross Logan said.
Kevin Barry Curran Bolingoli added: “Announce lifetime ban from Celtic Park.”
‘We have lost’: Heseltine says battle to stay in EU is over
Michael Heseltine has said the battle for UK membership of the EU is lost – and the question will not be reopened for 20 years.
“We have lost, let’s not muck about with the language,” the former deputy prime minister told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “Brexit is going to happen and we have to live with it.
“There will now be a long period of uncertainty, but we can’t escape from that, so we must do the best we can.”
Brushing off the prospect of an immediate campaign to rejoin, Lord Heseltine said: “I don’t think it’s gone, but it won’t be my generation. It will be 20 years or something before the thing is once again raised as an issue.”
Battle for UK to remain in the EU is now lost, admits Lord Heseltine
Battle under way over shape of UK's future relationship with the remaining EURacism claims and ‘forced labour camps’: The most controversial new Tory MPs
Lee Ashfield, who suggested “nuisance tenants” should have to live in forced labour camps, is just one of several Tory MPs under investigation as they take up their places on the Commons benches.
We’ve taken a closer look at some of new intake facing racism claims and other allegations.
Racism allegations and 'forced labour camps': The most controversial new Tory MPs
Several of 108 incoming Conservatives faced allegations during election campaignDefeated Labour candidates pile the blame on Corbyn
More ex-Labour MPs who lost their seats in the election have blamed Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and the party’s alienation of its northern voters for the loss.
Former Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman told the BBC “the biggest factor was obviously the unpopularity of Jeremy Corbyn as the leader”, adding: “The fact of the matter is that Jeremy Corbyn failed as a communicator, whatever his good personal qualities, and he undoubtedly has good personal qualities, he failed as a communicator.”
Labour MP Anna Turley said Corbyn was “absolutely” more of a reason than Brexit for her constituents voting for another party, adding: “In my constituency, even though it was a 67 per cent Leave constituency, it was four to one the leadership over Brexit.
“I mean obviously the issues run deeper than that, the Labour party is bigger than just one person, but the reality is there were issues around our perception around competence.”
However, Labour MP for York Central Rachel Maskell - who retained her seat - said it is not just Corbyn who should take responsibility for Labour’s defeat.
She said: “We’ve all got to take responsibility but I don't think apportioning blame to a complex situation in a simplistic way is really the way to approach this, we’ve got to understand what is really happening across our political system.”
What we learnt from an election that has changed British politics
John Rentoul has taken a closer look at what we gleaned from Thursday night’s historic election.
Corbyn’s sons urge supporters to ‘continue the fight’
Jeremy Corbyn’s sons have expressed their pride in their father despite him leading the Labour party to its worst general election defeat in more than 80 years.
In a message posted on Twitter by Tommy Corbyn with his brothers, Seb and Benjamin, they said defeat “hurt” and they praised his record of a lifetime of campaigning for the “less fortunate”.
They said he had paid the price for being “honest, humble and good-natured” in the “poisonous world” of politics, with years of “the most despicable attacks filled with hatred”.
As Labour leader, they said that he had produced “the most wonderful manifesto this country has ever seen”.
“He took on an entire establishment. This meant the attacks from all sides intensified and became even more poisonous while he was leader. We’ve never known a politician to be smeared and vilified so much,” they said.
“His unbelievably broad shoulders and incredibly thick skin endured all of this so that we could all live in the hope of a world free of racism or hunger. The man led with a strength difficult to quantify.”
Despite the rejection of his vision by voters, they insisted that its time would come.
“To assume that the ideologies he stands for are now outdated is so wrong. In the coming years we will see that they are more important than ever,” they said. “From the three proudest sons on the planet, please continue the fight.”
Hung parliament and 70 Lib Dem MPs: the general election result (if we used a PR voting system)
Boris Johnson would have been denied a majority in parliament if the UK had used the voting system adopted for European parliament polls at the general election, new research shows.
Analysis by the Electoral Reform Society shows the Tories would have won 77 fewer seats under the regional list proportional representation method of voting. The Lib Dems would have taken 59 more seats and Labour another 10.
The proportional representation system used in our European parliament elections would have left the Tories with only 288 seats, the largest party in a hung parliament – leaving open the possibility of a “rainbow” coalition government.
More details here:
This is what the general election results would have looked like if we used a PR system
Tories would have won only 288 seats – the largest party in a hung parliamentDavid Blunkett calls on unions and MPs to revolt and force Corbyn out as soon as possible
Our political editor has more on the intervention in Labour’s succession battle by the party’s former home secretary David Blunkett.
The New Labour-era figure has issued a call for trade unions and MPs to lead a revolt to force Jeremy Corbyn out and install an interim leader who will begin the process of steering the party away from his radical programme.
It comes as former MPs queue up to blame Corbyn for losing them their seats on Thursday, with one former shadow minister warning of “the end of the Labour movement” in the UK if the party fails to respond.
David Blunkett calls on trade unions and MPs to lead revolt to force Corbyn out as Labour leader
As succession battle begins, defeated Labour MPs point finger of blame at the party's leader‘We’ll all go now’: McDonnell rules himself out the race for Labour leadership
John McDonnell has said he won’t be part of any future shadow cabinet, ruling himself out of the race to be to be the next Labour leader.
“We’ll all go now – and new leader will come in place [and] appoint their shadow cabinet. I won’t be part of that shadow cabinet. We need to move on at that stage with that new leader.”
He also referred to “40 years of neglect” of the electorate, as his party tries to regain support in the north and Midlands.
‘I will repay your trust’: PM delivers message to Labour switchers
Boris Johnson has told traditional Labour voters who backed the Tories at this election he would “repay your trust” during a visit to Tony Blair’s old constituency of Sedgefield.
The prime minister acknowledged it would have been “difficult” for many people who “may have been breaking voting habits of generations” in Labour’s heartlands in the north and Midlands.
“Everything I do as your prime minister will be devoted to repaying that trust. And what are we going to do to repay that trust? Get Brexit done.”
