TORY WIPEOUT: General Election exit poll says Labour set for 170 seat majority

The Liberal Democrats are expected to return 61 MPs, while the Greens are on course to return two.

Reform UK is expected to pick up 13 seats, while the SNP is expected to be reduced to 10 MPs.

Speaking after the close of polls, Pat McFadden, Labour's National Campaign Coordinator said: “Keir Starmer’s transformation of the Labour Party has been remarkable. He has put country before party and has transformed Labour from a party focused on itself to one back in the service of the British public. We have campaigned as a changed Labour Party, ready to change Britain."

He added: “It’s going to be a long night, and it will be several hours until we know the full picture of results. Labour will need a swing bigger than Tony Blair achieved in 1997 to achieve a majority of just one seat."

Meanwhile, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “The Liberal Democrats are on course for our best results in a century, thanks to our positive campaign with health and care at its heart.

“I am humbled by the millions of people who backed the Liberal Democrats to both kick the Conservatives out of power and deliver the change our country needs.

“Every Liberal Democrat MP will be a strong local champion for their community standing up for the NHS and care. Whether you voted for us or not, we will work day in and day out and we will not let you down.”

Starmer's predicted election victory comes after Conservative warnings of a Labour "supermajority".

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland, who exit polls show is expected to lose Swindon South to Labour candidate Heidi Alexander, said he was prepared for “whatever the electorate throw at me”.

Speaking to Sky, he said: "That's politics", adding: “I’ve lost before, I’ve won four elections on the trot, I’m used to what defeat looks like and I’m prepared for it, but my political life is not over.

“I feel a bit like Tony Benn tonight. I’ll be leaving Parliament to spend more time on politics. I’ve got causes dear to my heart such as autism, disability justice, that I will be fighting for just as hard outside parliament as i used to in parliament.

“So I’m ready for whatever the electorate throw at me and I treat victory and defeat like those two imposters, just the same."

Angela Rayner said the results were “encouraging” but warned that a number of seats were on a “knife edge.”

Speaking to the BBC, she added: “If you look at where we were in 2019, just to get a majority of one we’d have had to have a swing greater than Tony Blair in 1997.

“So we know a number of seats were on a knife edge from our own data, but I also know that all of our activists and our candidates have been going out there not taking anything for granted and speaking to the electorate about what matters to them.”

She said it would be “an absolute honour and a privilege to be re-elected”.