UK general election 2019: Who won and what happens now?

2019-12-13 19:02:02

It was billed as one of the most unpredictable elections in decades but after six weeks of hard campaigning by two historically unpopular party leaders it ended with a conclusive result. Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson won a sweeping victory, handing him a clear mandate to "get Brexit done". He had called the UK's third general election since 2015 - and the first to be held in December for almost 100 years - in an effort to increase his parliamentary majority and end months of deadlock over the UK's exit from the European Union. It was a thumping defeat for the main opposition Labour party. Leader Jeremy Corbyn said Brexit had "polarised and divided debate", shifting focus away from other, more traditional issues.