Sky News viewers shocked as exit ballot greeted with VERY unusual moans
A stunned Sky News studio led the way with the most bizarre reaction as Labour‘s predicted landslide was dramatically revealed by Britain’s broadcasters on Thursday night.
As the staggering results from the exit poll were released at 10pm, presenters across Sky, ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC revealed to the nation that Sir Keir Starmer is on track to win 410 of the 650 seats, while the Conservatives are set for just 131.
Broadcaster GB News suffered an early gaffe on election night, displaying a graphic that showed the Tories are down to win 410 seats with Labour on 131 – a landslide in the wrong direction.
But the strangest reaction came from the Sky News studio, who could be heard making some unusual noises as Labour’s predicted majority of 170 showed up on screen.
Viewers were left stunned as presenter Kay Burley and Labour mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham let out a series of strange moans as they were left completely speechless.
It prompted social media users to ask: ‘What is happening in the Sky News studio?!’
A replay of their reactions was shown moments later, with Mr Burnham seen nearly jumping out of his seat and raising his arms in the air as he sat next to a far from impressed Baroness Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
Andy Burnham celebrated as he sat next to a far from impressed Baroness Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives
Broadcaster GB News suffered an early gaffe on election night, displaying a graphic that showed the Tories on track to win 410 seats and Labour set for 131 – the wrong way round
Laura Kuenssberg and Clive Myrie were much more measured as they revealed the exit poll
Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Emily Maitlis were staggered as the exit polls were released
Tom Bradby – who anchoring ITV’s coverage – was stunned as he revealed: ‘The exit poll is here. It is predicting a Labour landslide, a Labour majority of 170.’
Words including ‘oh my God’ and ‘woah’ could also be heard from the team, which included political editor Beth Rigby, Sunday breakfast show presenter Sir Trevor Phillips, and data and economics editor Ed Conway.
As expected, the BBC gave a much more controlled update as the polls closed at 10pm.
BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg said: ‘As Big Ben strikes 10, the exit poll is predicting a Labour landslide.’
Clive Myrie calmly added: ‘Sir Keir Starmer will become Prime Minister with a majority of around 170 seats.’
On Channel 4, Krishnan Guru-Murthy said: ‘We can reveal it is a Labour landslide being predicted by the exit poll. The catastrophe for the Conservatives, Sir Keir Starmer becomes the seventh Labour PM in history.
Co-presenter Emily Maitlis added: ‘So, a Labour landslide. This is your voice. This is our country deciding we’ve had enough. If the exit polls are right this is a moment of radical, generational change. Keir Starmer will become the first person to lead Labour from opposition to government in 27 years.
‘And that for many of our viewers tonight will be a virtual, maybe an actual lifetime.’
Tom Bradby – who anchoring ITV’s coverage – was stunned as he revealed: ‘The exit poll is here. It is predicting a Labour landslide, a Labour majority of 170. It has the Conservatives on 131 seats and Labour on 410. The Lib Dems are projected 61 seats, Reform on 13 with the SNP expected to secure 10.
‘That is a simply astonishing result, record-breaking, history making. Tories did have, they dropped the lowest number of seats since 1832, I think looking at that number. That is an astonishingly low figure.’
Rishi Sunak’s term as Prime Minister looks set to end in electoral disaster, with the Conservatives forecast to endure heavy losses.
Sir Keir Starmer is on track to win 410 of the 650 seats, an exit poll revealed on Thursday night
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty arrived to cast their vote at Kirby Sigston Village Hall in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, on Thursday morning
Sir Keir arrived with his wife Victoria to cast their votes at a polling station in their Holborn and St Pancras constituency in north London
It marks a dramatic turnaround since the 2019 general election, when Boris Johnson won the Tories a healthy 80-seat majority and Jeremy Corbyn led Labour to its worst result since 1935.
The exit poll suggests Labour is on course for 410 seats, with the Tories reduced to 131.
It will mean a Labour prime minister in No 10 for the first time in 2010 and the Conservatives facing a possible civil war as the fight for the future direction of the party and the battle to potentially replace Mr Sunak gets under way.
After 14 years in power it was always going to be a difficult election for the Conservatives, but the sometimes shambolic campaign – triggered at a time of Mr Sunak’s choosing – has contributed to their party’s likely defeat.
From the rain-drenched speech announcing the surprise July 4 poll, through the D-Day debacle as he left Normandy early to record a TV interview to confused campaign messaging about a Labour ‘supermajority’, Mr Sunak struggled to convince the electorate he was the right man to lead the country.
Going for a summer election rather than waiting until the autumn was always a gamble, and the Prime Minister was not helped by the scandal of Tory candidates and officials allegedly heading to the bookies armed with inside knowledge of the date.
Mr Sunak is expected to resign after leading his party to defeat, but many of the contenders jostling to replace him are nervously awaiting their own constituency results to see if their leadership dreams survive the night.
The likes of Penny Mordaunt, Grant Shapps, Suella Braverman, Steve Baker and Robert Jenrick all face battles to return to Parliament.
Former home secretaries Suella Braverman and Dame Priti Patel, security minister Tom Tugendhat and Health Secretary Victoria Atkins could survive to fight for the leadership.
The exit poll suggested Labour would have a majority of 170, with the forecast indicating the lowest number of Tory MPs on record.
The poll suggested the Liberal Democrats will win 61 seats, Reform UK on 13 and the Green Party two.
In Scotland, the SNP are expected to secure 10 seats with Plaid Cymru in Wales on four.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said his party was ‘on course for our best results in a century, thanks to our positive campaign with health and care at its heart’.
