As of 11.45am on Friday (13 December), the Tories held 364 seats with one left to declare, up 46 on where it stood before the polls opened at 7am on Thursday (12 December).

The Conservatives tore into Labour’s northern heartlands such as Blyth Valley and Workington while Wrexham in north Wales, a Labour seat since 1935, also turned blue.

It proved a sobering night for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour, which lost nearly 60 seats. Corbyn has indicated he will not lead Labour into another election.

Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats shed just one seat, albeit that of leader Jo Swinson. Sir Ed Davey and Baroness Sal Brinton will be acting leaders for the party, which campaigned on a staunch anti-Brexit message.

The SNP, meanwhile, made significant gains in Scotland, increasing the likelihood of the party pushing for a fresh vote on Scottish independence.

Johnson is now expected to bring his Brexit withdrawal bill back before the House of Commons next week and has vowed to “get Brexit done” by 31 January.

It would mark the start of the extremely complex process of extricating the UK from the EU and agreeing a new trade deal with the bloc, as well as new arrangements in respect of security and other key matters.