U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will retain power with a thumping majority after his Conservative Party secured its best election result since 1987.
With nearly all of the votes counted, the Conservatives were set to secure 364 parliamentary seats, a majority of 78 in the House of Commons. The result, which proved even more decisive than pollsters had forecast, follows a bitterly-fought and divisive election campaign.
At victory celebrations in central London, Johnson told an audience that the country will now leave the EU on January 31.
“We will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes,” he said.
The FTSE 100 rose by nearly 1% early on Friday morning, while sterling jumped 2% against the U.S. dollar after an early exit poll projected the decisive victory for the Conservatives. Domestic focused U.K. stocks on the FTSE 250 rallied 5% in early deals to reach a new record high. Yields on the U.K. benchmark 10-year bonds rose 7 basis points in early trade and reached their highest level since early June at 0.895%.
Earlier, Jeremy Corbyn announced he will not be leading the U.K.’s opposition Labour party in future elections, following what he called a “disappointing night.” Speaking on ITV on Friday, Corbyn said Labour — which is expected to get 203 seats — would go through a reflection process and that he will lead the party during this period.
“This is obviously a very disappointing night for the Labour Party with the result that we’ve got,” Corbyn said.
The result of the election is expected to have a decisive effect on the direction that Brexit takes, three-and-a-half years since the U.K.’s referendum on EU membership. It could also also have lasting impacts on the United Kingdom itself with a strong showing for the Scottish National Party.
Johnson’s Brexit divorce deal has been agreed to in principle by the U.K. Parliament but is yet to be fully ratified by lawmakers. It’s likely that the bill will come back in front of lawmakers as early as next week.
There have been deep divisions over the deal on offer and how close the U.K. should stay aligned to the EU after its departure from the bloc. The future of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland has also been a major sticking point.
The impasse and political chaos in the House of Commons ultimately led to Thursday’s snap general election as Johnson lost the slim majority he held in the U.K.’s lower chamber of Parliament. The vote was the first to be held in the winter months since 1974 and the first December election since 1923.
—CNBC’s Christine Wang and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this article.
