December 13, 2019 - 15:02 AMT
Boris Johnson's Conservative Party wins majority in UK vote

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stunned political pundits by leading his Conservative Party to score one of the country's most dramatic electoral victories in decades, CNN reports.

The result is a vindication of Johnson's strategy to campaign on a single promise to "get Brexit done."

It was a crushing defeat for the opposition Labour Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said he would step down after a "process of reflection." And the leader of the pro-Remain Liberal Democrat party, Jo Swinson, lost her seat, as the Scottish National Party swept the board in Scotland.

By early Friday morning, the Conservatives had secured 364 of the 650 seats in the House of Parliament, well ahead of Labour's 203 seats.

The Liberal Democrats have 11 seats, while the Scottish National Party posted big gains in Scotland, with 48 seats. That would give Johnson a comfortable majority in the House of Commons and paves the way for Brexit to take place at the end of January.

"We did it," Johnson said at a victory rally on Friday morning. "We broke the deadlock, we smashed the roadblock," he told a cheering room. "A new dawn rises on a new day."

"You may only have lent us your vote, you may not consider yourself a natural Tory," Johnson said. "Your hand may have quivered over the ballot paper before you put your cross in the Conservative box and you may intend to return to Labour next time round. And if that is the case, I am humbled that you have put your trust in me and that you have put your trust in us."

"I, and we, will never take your support for granted," Johnson added.