Britain's ruling Conservative Party has been thrown out of government after 14 years, as voters deserted it for alternatives on the left and right in Thursday's general election.
An exit poll released at 10pm, local time, predicted a landslide win for the Labour opposition, and as the sun rose on Friday morning, outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceded defeat.
Labour, led by Sir Keir Starmer, was on track to win more than 400 of the country's 650 lower-house constituencies. To form government, a party must win 326 seats.
The Conservatives — also known as the Tories — went into the election with 345 seats, but looked likely to lose more than 200 of those.
As the results rolled in, Sir Keir — who will become prime minister — took to the stage at a counting centre in his electorate about 3am Friday morning and said the landslide came with great responsibility.
"Tonight, people here and around the country have spoken and they're ready for change," he said.
"To end the politics of performance, and return to politics as public service.
"You have voted, it's now time for us to deliver."
Conservative minister Dominic Grieve didn't hold back when describing the huge losses, telling the ABC that it was a "sad day" for the party and "perhaps one of the worst in its history".
The exit poll, gathered as voters left 133 polling stations around the country after casting their actual ballots, is widely regarded as the most reliable indicator available until the final results are declared.
Labour's Rachel Reeves, who will be in the cabinet when the party forms government, told the BBC Sir Keir was determined to "bring growth back to Britain".
"This an almost unprecedented landslide majority," she said.
"This will give us a mandate to make the changes that the country needs."
'Dreadful result' for Tories
As dozens of blue seats turned red, the Conservatives also lost a large number of votes to the far-right Reform UK party.
Conservative minister Steve Baker told the BBC the results represented an "extremely difficult moment" for the party.
"We've just had a torrid time, a dreadful result, there will be, undoubtedly, recriminations," he said.
Ahead of the election, multiple polls pointed to Reform, led by high-profile populist Nigel Farage, taking a hammer to the Conservatives' vote.
He won the constituency of Clacton-on-Sea just after 3:30am on Friday, local time, and said the incoming government would be in trouble "very, very quickly".
"We will now, be targeting Labour votes, we're coming for Labour, make no doubt about that," he said.
"Believe me folks, this is just the first step of something that is going to stun all of you."
Outgoing Health Minister Dame Andrea Leadsom told the BBC Reform had done "vast damage" to the Conservatives.
The exit poll predicted that Reform would win about 13 seats. The party, which has a staunch anti-immigration platform, was set up in 2019.
The Tory rout is not considered surprising. Over the course of the campaign, multiple polls have all said the same thing: Labour would win in a landslide.
Indeed, the party has been ahead of the Tories in every sample taken since the start of 2022.
Speaking in his North Yorkshire constituency about 4:30am on Friday, Sunak said it had been a "difficult" night for the Conservatives.
"The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight," he said.
"There is much to learn and reflect on."
While many in Labour will be celebrating the result, the party didn't get things all its own way.
Former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was recently booted out of the party, won his north London seat as an independent.
Voter turnout was down around the country, too.
Labour has promised to revitalise Britain's public health system and grow the country's stuttering economy if elected.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives spent significant time ahead of the election focusing on immigration policy.
Sir Keir has said he would scrap the government's plans to deport some asylum seekers who arrived in the UK to Rwanda if Labour was elected.
The Conservatives first squeaked into office in 2010 after forming a coalition with the Lib Dems, won a majority in 2015, and then governed in minority after a snap 2017 election. But in 2019, Boris Johnson led them to a commanding victory.
Their 14 years in government have been among the most tumultuous in British history, and included the country voting to leave the European Union, the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple political scandals.
The election brought big changes to the minor parties, too.
On top of Reform's gains, the Lib Dems were predicted to add about 50 seats to their total, while the Scottish National Party, which had held 48 seats, was expected to have its number of MPs slashed.
Lib Dems leader Ed Davey, who was snapped partaking in numerous stunts over the past six weeks doing things like surfing and bungee jumping, said he had "rather enjoyed this campaign".
There are several major differences between the way elections are staged in the UK, compared to Australia.
Early voting is not available in Britain, but people are given longer to cast their ballot on election day with polls open from 7am to 10pm.
Voting also takes place on a weekday, and instead of preferential voting (like in Australia), Britain uses a first-past-the-post system, which means the candidate with the highest number of ballots wins.
Liberal Democrats MP Daisy Cooper told the BBC, Britain's first-past-the-post system was broken, but agreed that her party had learnt how to "play the game" better.
"We've been clear now for many years that our goal is to unseat as many Conservative MPs as possible," she said.
Voting is also not compulsory in the UK, and the country's upper house — called the House of Lords — is completely unelected.
