It is the Brits' hope that after the general election, Britain, not Brussels, will be in the Brexit driving seat.
LONDON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Gasps of dismay and ecstasy could be heard across Britain as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was officially declared winner of the country's general election on Friday, when his Conservatives passed the finishing post for a majority government, bringing hope for a probable Brexit early next year.
The exit poll results is projected onto Broadcasting House in London, Britain, on Dec. 12, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC handout via Xinhua)
CONSERVATIVES' VICTORY IN BREXIT ELECTION
A flurry of results just after 0500 GMT took the Conservatives to 326 seats in the House of Commons, more than half of the 650 seats.
In the minutes that followed, the Conservative tally continued to go up, taking the party close to the 368 seats and an 86-seat majority predicted Thursday night in the shock exit-poll.
By 0800 GMT Friday with just one result remaining, the Conservatives had 368 seats, Labour 203, the Scottish National Party (SNP) 48, Liberal Democrats 11 and Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) 4. It gives Johnson a 78-seat majority in the House of Commons.
While the results showed that Conservatives gained 47 more seats than they won in the last election, the big losers were the Labour Party, who lost 59 seats.
The Conservatives hit that critical 326 number when they won the Labour seat in Bolsover held for 49 years by one of the best known politicians at Westminster, 87-year-old Dennis Skinner.
British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson leaves a polling station after casting his vote for the general election in London, Britain, on Dec. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
In his first reaction to the Conservative landslide victory, Johnson thanked the people of Britain for turning out in the first December election for almost a century to vote in an election which he did not want.
He added it had turned out to be a historic election that gave the new government the chance to respect the democratic will of the British people to change the country for the better.
Later at a rally of party workers in London, Johnson declared: "We pulled it off."
He said the result meant the Brexit deadlock will be broken.
Johnson has indicated he will seek to get his Brexit bill through parliament later this month, to pave the way for Britain's departure from the European Union (EU) at the end of January 2020.
British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (L, front) and his wife Laura Alvarez (R, front) arrive at a polling station to cast their votes for the general election in London, Britain, Dec. 12, 2019. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)
A DISAPPOINTING NIGHT FOR LABOUR
Main opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said it had been a very disappointing night for the Labour Party. He announced that he would not lead the party into another general election.
Some Labour politicians called on Corbyn to quit as leader to enable the party to rebuild.
Other big-name victims were Jo Swinson, newly-chosen leader of the minority Liberal Democrats, and Nigel Dodds, deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party who lost in Northern Ireland to the republican Sinn Fein party.
Johnson's predecessor at 10 Downing Street, Theresa May, said she was very pleased at the majority.
"At this election, people were faced with a very clear choice on whether they wanted to ensure that Brexit was delivered and they knew if a Conservative majority government got in, they (Conservatives) would deliver Brexit," May said.
Staff count ballots for the general election at Brunel University in Uxbridge, London, Britain, Dec. 12, 2019. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)
"This election was about ensuring we could get over this deadlock in Parliament, get Brexit done and move on," she said.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the results for the SNP exceeded her expectations.
Her party won an extra 13 seats at the expense of Labour and Conservative to give the SNP 48 seats in the Commons.
"Scotland has sent a very clear message -- we don't want a Boris Johnson government; we don't want to leave the EU," she said.
"Boris Johnson has a mandate to take England out of the EU, but he must accept that I have a mandate to give Scotland a choice for an alternative future," she said.
People pass by a polling station for the general election in London, Britain on Dec. 12, 2019. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
NEXT STEP FOR BREXIT
On Tuesday, Johnson vowed to demolish three years of stalemate over Brexit and end Britain's membership of the EU on Jan. 31, 2020 if he wins the election.
Ahead of that he aims to present his Brexit deal to the Houses of Parliament before Christmas. That would mean his Brexit bill is winging its way through the Westminster processes and receiving Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth before parliament goes into its festive season recess just a few days before Dec. 25.
Johnson's aim is to then reach a future permanent trading relationship with Brussels by the end of 2020.
As Labour's Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said, "Brexit has dominated the election. It was the big issue and it sounds like people want Brexit to be done."
Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2019 shows the European Union flag and the Union Jack flag outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
Home Secretary Priti Patel has also stressed that the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement would be pushed through as soon as possible.
At the Conservative Party election headquarters, a spokesperson said the country needed this election because parliament was doing all it could to frustrate the will of the people.
"A functioning majority would mean we can now finally end the uncertainty and get Brexit done. It would allow the country to come together and move forward by delivering the change people voted for in 2016."
It is the Brits' hope that after the general election, Britain, not Brussels, will be in the Brexit driving seat.
(Video reporters: Jin Jing, Liang Xizhi, Wang Han, Chen Danyang, Yang Ruiwen, Yuan Yijiao, Oliver Jarvis, Duan Kai; Video editor: Luo Hui)■
