Results show a sweeping victory for Boris Johnson's Conservatives and a historic defeat for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party as concerns over Brexit appeared to dominate. Follow the latest here.
Boris Johnson's Conservatives won a decisive majority in Parliament, paving the way for the UK to leave the European Union next month.Johnson called the results a "powerful mandate" for the Conservatives.Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he will not lead the party in a future election campaign but will stay on to guide the party through a "period of reflection."
Brexit dominated the campaign, but other main issues included concerns over Britain's beloved National Health Service, climate change and the economy.
All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC)
5:38 France's European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin welcomed the indications of a "clear majority, something that has been missing in the United Kingdom for several years."
5:33 The Conservative Party is set for their biggest landslide victory since the Margaret Thatcher era, with the Labour headed for their worst result since 1935.
05:29 Labour veteran Dennis Skinner, nicknamed "The Beast of Bolsover", lost his seat in the town of Bolsover to the Tories after holding it for over four decades. The 87-year-old Skinner was Labour's longest continuously serving lawmaker.
05:05 -Boris Johnson's Conservatives have secured a landslide victory in the UK's general election, securing a majority in Parliament. With results still coming in, the Conservatives snagged 333 seats — over the 326 needed for an absolute majority. Labour took 199 seats, while the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 45 and the Liberal Democrats took 8.
04:40 - US President Donald Trump has chimed in on the UK general election, tweeting that the results are "looking like a big win" for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
04:20 - The SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says that Scotland must be allowed to hold a second referendum on independence following her party's strong results.
"There is a mandate now to offer the people of Scotland the choice over our own future," Sturgeon told Sky News.
03:50 - The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, lost her seat to the Scottish National Party in a closely contested race. SNP candidate Amy Callaghan beat out the pro-EU Swinson by a mere 149 votes.
03:40 - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson celebrated the results, saying that his Conservatives have been given "a powerful mandate."
"At this stage, it does look as though this one nation Conservative government has been given a powerful mandate to get Brexit done," Johnson said as he was re-elected in his constituency.
03:20 - Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said that he "will not lead the party in any future election campaign," but ruled out stepping down immediately. He called for a period of reflection in his party and said that he would remain at the helm "to ensure that discussion takes place."
"This is obviously a disappointing result for the Labour Party," Corbyn said. He criticized media coverage of his party during the campaign and placed blame for the drop in support with divisions over Brexit.
"Brexit has so polarized and divided debate in this country ... I recognize that this has contributed to the results that we have received across this country," he said.
03:00 - Five hours after polls closed, here's where the results currently stand according to British media:
Conservatives 91 - 102
Labour 76 - 81
SNP 15 - 16
Liberal Democrats 3
Other parties 6 - 10
Although there's still a long way to go, the results so far show a heavy hit in support for Labour. The party has already lost at least 20 of its seats to Conservative and SNP candidates.
02:15 - DW's UK politics analyst Rob Mudge says that Jeremy Corbyn and his ambiguous Brexit stance and inability to appeal to voters even within Labour strongholds likely contributed to the projected loss in support for the party.
"I think that he proved to be more unpopular than Boris Johnson. It probably didn't help that he's been sitting on the fence on Brexit for so long," Mudge says.
01:15 - Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire, with Labour party members debating whether Brexit or his leadership are to blame for the party's projected sweeping defeat.
Labour candidate Gareth Snell told the BBC that the exit poll "is a catastrophe" for his party and that he expected to lose the race in his constituency. When asked whether Labour leaders should resign, he replied: "Yes."
Seb Dance, a Labour candidate in London, tweeted that although voters he spoke with were angry about Brexit and Boris Johnson, "they feared one thing more: Jeremy Corbyn.
