UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that voters had given his government a "powerful new mandate" to take Britain out of the EU next month, as he headed for a crushing victory in a landmark election.
With about 600 of 650 seats declared, Johnson's Conservatives secured the 326 seats required for a majority in the House of Commons, gaining 43 seats, while Labour lost 55 to 197.
The Tories were heading for their biggest majority in parliament since the heyday of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, according to exit polls and partial results.
"We will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes," Johnson told cheering supporters.
With a large majority of MPs, he will be able to get the divorce deal he struck with Brussels through parliament in time to meet the next Brexit deadline of January 31.
But the Conservative leader will face renewed calls for an independence referendum in Scotland, where the pro-independence Scottish National Party claimed 48 of the 59 seats contested.
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