Boris Johnson's Conservative Party has officially won the UK election, securing the required number of seats to govern with a majority.

Key points: The exit poll has the Tories on track to win 368 seats, while Labour is forecast to lose dozens of MPs

The exit poll has the Tories on track to win 368 seats, while Labour is forecast to lose dozens of MPs Boris Johnson is expected to have a clear majority in the House of Commons as he attempts to ram his Brexit agenda through

Boris Johnson is expected to have a clear majority in the House of Commons as he attempts to ram his Brexit agenda through The election was billed as a way out of the Brexit stalemate in the deeply divided nation

The Conservatives have exceeded the 326 seats in the House of Commons required to achieve majority government.

Exit polls projected the Tories were on track to win 368 seats, which would give Mr Johnson a clear majority with which to ram though his Brexit agenda.

Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party was forecast to pick up 191 seats — 71 fewer than they currently hold.

The Scottish National Party was predicted to win by a landslide in Scotland, taking 55 seats out of 59, while the Liberal Democrats were on track to return 13 MPs to Westminster.

The victory makes Mr Johnson the most electorally successful Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher and is a disaster for left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was facing calls for his resignation even as the results rolled in.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 2 minutes 29 seconds 2 m 29 s Boris Johnson said his government had been given a powerful mandate to 'get Brexit done'.

Mr Corbyn announced he would be stepping down as party leader but would remain in Parliament after being returned in his Islington North electorate.

Before the victory was official, Mr Johnson said it had proved to be a historic election.

"That gives us now in this new government the chance to respect the democratic will of the British people, to change this country for the better, and to unleash the potential of the entire people of this country," he said.

The Prime Minister said his government had been given a "powerful mandate to get Brexit done".

What is an exit poll? The exit poll is a way of predicting what may happen in the general election before the official results are announced

The exit poll is a way of predicting what may happen in the general election before the official results are announced Researchers asked 22,790 people across 144 polling stations in England, Scotland and Wales how they voted

Researchers asked 22,790 people across 144 polling stations in England, Scotland and Wales how they voted They then used this data to forecast each party's likelihood of winning in any given seat

They then used this data to forecast each party's likelihood of winning in any given seat The poll is a joint effort between the BBC, ITV and Sky

Mr Johnson called the first December election since 1923 to break what he said was the paralysis of Britain's political system after more than three years of crisis over how, when or even if the country should leave the European Union.

Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly said the results would give the party "a big majority" that could be used to "get Brexit done", while controversial former House of Commons speaker John Bercow said it pointed to a "phenomenal victory".

"Boris Johnson will feel completely vindicated with the gamble that he took," he said.

"That would be an absolutely dramatic victory."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 59 seconds 1 m 59 s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says he will not lead the party to any future elections.

The election results also swung against the Liberal Democrats, with leader Jo Swinson losing her seat of East Dunbartonshire in Scotland to the Scottish National Party.

Ms Swinson, who had a majority of 5,339 in the constituency, lost to her closest rival Amy Callaghan by 149 votes in one of the shocks of the evening as Britain's political landscape was redrawn.

She only became the party's leader in July and had campaigned to overturn Britain's 2016 vote to leave the EU.

Knives out for 'worse than useless' Corbyn

The drubbing piled pressure on Mr Corbyn, who had promised another referendum on Brexit, and who now looks to have led the left-of-centre party to two electoral defeats in two years.

"It's Corbyn," said former Labour cabinet minister Alan Johnson, when asked about the poor result.

"We knew he was incapable of leading. We knew he was worse than useless at all the qualities you need to lead a political party."

Scottish independence referendum not 'inevitable': Gove

With Scotland forecast to have voted overwhelmingly for the Scottish National Party, one top Conservative moved to hose down talk of another independence referendum.

Although Scotland voted against independence from the United Kingdom in a referendum in 2014, the possibility of a breakaway from the UK has been given fresh momentum by the ongoing wrangle over Brexit.

The possibility of Scotland breaking away from the UK has been given fresh momentum by the ongoing wrangle over Brexit. ( AFP: Andy Buchanan )

Tory Minister Michael Gove said such a move would damage Scotland and the UK, even if Scots had overwhelmingly voted for the nationalists who favour such a poll.

"I don't believe that another independence referendum is inevitable, quite the opposite," Mr Gove told ITV.

"I don't believe that a second independence referendum would be right for Scotland or right for the United Kingdom."

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon cautioned supporters not to take the exit poll at face value, saying there were too many marginal seats in play north of the border.

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