The reality that the Tories have tried to deny and avoid for months has now hit. While exit polls are never perfect, the margins of error are small. It is now just a matter of waiting a few hours for the Tories’ worst defeat in history to play out.
Tonight’s projection, 131 seats, does not just mean defeat but humiliation. 1997, the horrid memory etched into many, now feels like a balm. There is no sugar-coating this now, it is the worst defeat for any party in living memory.
The voters who put the Tories in power five years ago have deserted them in droves. Some have gone Leftwards, backing Labour and the Lib Dems, others to the Right and Reform. Hundreds of thousands have simply stayed at home.
The result is defeat almost across the board. No demographic or geography is safe. The fabled Red Wall may never be spoken of again, but at the same time, true-blue Tory heartlands will have flipped. A Lib Dem wave will sweep through the Home Counties, while suburban and rural seats go Red.
This evening caps an ignominious end for the Tories. For nearly three years they have unravelled. First the scandals of Boris Johnson, then the calamity of Liz Truss, and finally the slow bleed of Rishi Sunak’s tenure. While they have tried to deny the direction of the polling, or hope for some salvation, nothing has been forthcoming. Now, there are no more excuses.
The rest of tonight will be painful for the party. Both fresh-faced candidates and seasoned veterans will be publicly met with the ire the party has earned. Seats with huge majorities will tumble; Cabinet veterans will be deposed. Not many will watch on with sympathy. Elections sometimes capture a mood — tonight is a distillation of anger against the Tories.
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