New Delhi:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned as Britain's Prime Minister with historic mandate as his Conservative Party on Friday won a commanding majority in US House of Commons. After his sweeping election win in the UK General Election, Johnson who vigorously campaigned on a simple slogan "Get Brexit Done", said Britain would leave the European Union on January 31. He vowed that he will work "flat out" to repay the trust of the voters after the Conservatives' most emphatic majority since the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher. Johnson met Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace to formally seek her permission to form his new government.
A 365-seat haul gave the Conservative Party a solid 80-seat majority in the 650-strong House of Commons. The Conservatives won St Ives - the final seat to declare - by 80 votes.
"We will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes," Johnson told cheering supporters on Friday.
Earlier, addressing a victory rally, Johnson hailed a 'new dawn' which "unarguably" broke the Brexit deadlock and vowed not to let down the 'sacred trust' placed in him by the voters, who turned out for the first winter election in decades to register a 67 per cent turnout.
Johnson, who won his own seat in London's Uxbridge and South Ruislip, hailed the Conservative Party's triumph as a "powerful new mandate" to move forward with his deal to leave the 28-member economic bloc on January 31.
"It does look as though this One Nation Conservative government has been given a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done and not just to get Brexit done but to unite this country and to take it forward," he said.
"We did it, we pulled it off didn't we? We broke the deadlock, we ended the gridlock, we smashed the roadblock," Johnson, who was accompanied by his girlfriend Carrie Symonds and their pet dog Dilyn at the rally.
"With this election I think we've put an end to all those miserable threats of a second referendum," he said, as he got the crowd to repeat 'Get Brexit Done' numerous times during an energetic victory speech.
Jeremy Corbyn Not To Lead Labour In Next Election
Meanwhile, the Opposition Labour was down to just 203 seats, its worst performance since 1935, which resulted in leader Jeremy Corbyn announcing that he would not lead the party in the next election.
"It has been a very disappointing night for Labour... I will not lead the party in any future General Election campaign," said Corbyn, 70, as he won his own seat in London's Islington North constituency.
It marked a crushing defeat, which is almost entirely being blamed on Corbyn's leadership and his failure to take a clear stance on Brexit as well as counter growing allegations of anti-semitism within the party ranks. A perceived anti-India stance since the Labour Party passed an emergency motion calling for international intervention in Kashmir is also likely to have swayed some of its traditional connect with the Indian diaspora voters.
PM Modi Congratulates Boris Johnson
Prime Minister Narendra Modi quickly congratulated Johnson on his re-election with a thumping majority. "I wish him the best and look forward to working together for closer India-UK ties," Modi tweeted.
The snap election had been called by Johnson in a bid to win a majority for his Conservative Party and break the Commons deadlock over Brexit. It resulted in the UK's first December polls in nearly a century and saw voters brave a cold winter's day to queue outside polling stations to cast their vote in what had been pegged as the most important election 'in a generation'.
This also marked the UK's third General Election in less than five years and the second since the UK voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.
Johnson, who had taken over from Theresa May earlier this year with a pledge to meet the October 31 Brexit deadline, was constantly frustrated with a lack of majority in Parliament.
During the campaign, he focused relentlessly on the "Get Brexit Done" message, promising to take the UK out of the EU by the new January 31, 2020 deadline if he was returned to power.
In contrast, his main rival Corbyn, had promised voters another referendum with a choice between a renegotiated Brexit deal and remaining in the economic bloc.
But Labour mainly campaigned on a promise to end Tory budget cuts by increasing spending on public services and the state-funded National Health Service, a strategy which it would seem failed to make a dent in the polls.
