What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Boris Johnson is back in Downing Street with the largest Conservative majority since 1987 .

The vital statistics are that there will be at least 364 Conservatives in the new Parliament (with one seat still to declare at the time of writing) after Labour lost many seats in the party's northern heartlands.

The topline numbers suggest the country is behind the Tories and their latest plan to deliver Brexit on January 31.

But looking at the overall voting figures puts things in a somewhat different light.

And with a proportional voting system, the election results announced today would have been very different.

Election Results Live 326 needed for majority Boris Johnson , Conservatives 365 Jeremy Corbyn , Labour 202 Nicola Sturgeon , SNP 48 Jo Swinson , Lib Dems 11 DUP - 8

DUP - Sinn Fein - 7

Sinn Fein - Plaid Cymru - 4

Plaid Cymru - Green - 1

Green - Speaker - 1

Speaker - Other - 3 See full results

1. If the result was based on the popular vote, it would be a very different picture

Add up all the votes and split them out, rather than just going by a constituency basis, and you end up with a very different picture. (Hat tip to Wales Online's Will Hayward for putting this together - click here if you can't see the chart above).

2. The picture on Brexit is not as clear as the large Tory majority suggests

And of course the split had to be 52-48 - just like the referendum in 2016.

3. A tiny increase in vote share somehow led to dozens of extra Tory seats

The Liberal Democrat share of the popular vote has gone up but they are behind the 2017 seat tally so far (although the final seat to declare is in the balance between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives). The Greens and Brexit Party (compared to UKIP) had increased vote share but made no gains. The SNP and Tory vote share increases translated to a big boost in seat numbers.

UK vote share change compared to 2017 After 649 of 650 seats UK seat count change compared to 2017 After 649 of 650 seats

4. Some parties have to work a lot harder to get MPs elected than others

Imagine what a different place parliament would be if Green MPs got elected at the same vote rate as Tories.

5. Many votes end up counting for nothing

If you vote for the second placed candidate - or any candidate that does not win, your vote will count for nothing. Some elections operate with a list system alongside, to balance out unrepresented votes. Or allow voters to rank the candidates by preference, with their second (and lower) choices counting if their first preference loses out.