With a Conservative majority emphatically secured and Labour’s resistance reduced to tatters, Boris Johnson now has all the tools at his disposal to "smash the roadblock", in his words, and take Britain out of the EU.

The prime minister, who finished with more than 43 per cent of the popular vote, has vowed to unite the country, spread opportunity and “get Brexit done” after his snap general election gamble paid off.

“We did it – we pulled it off, didn’t we? We broke the gridlock, we ended the deadlock, we smashed the roadblock,” said Mr Johnson during his victory speech in central London.

“In winning this election, we have won votes and the trust of people who have never voted Conservative before and people have always voted for other parties. Those people want change. We cannot, must not, must not, let them down.”

So, with 365 seats to the Conservatives’ name and an historic 80-seat majority in the bag, what are the next steps for Brexit in the weeks and months ahead?

General election 2019: How the night unfolded Show all 27 1 /27 General election 2019: How the night unfolded General election 2019: How the night unfolded Boris Johnson wins biggest Tory landslide since Thatcher ...while Labour records worst result since Clement Attlee PA General election 2019: How the night unfolded 11.28pm - First result to be announced Labour holds Newcastle Central, albeit with a reduced majority, in the first result to be announced in the 2019 General Election PA General election 2019: How the night unfolded 11.33pm - Conservatives gain Blyth Valley The Conservatives gain Blyth Valley, in the North East, from Labour in the first big upset of the night. The seat had been held by Labour since 1950 BBC General election 2019: How the night unfolded 1.23am - Conservatives succeed in appealing to "Workington Man" The Tories won the North West constituency from Labour - the first time the seat has changed hands since 1979 Telegraph General election 2019: How the night unfolded 1.27am - The SNP gains Rutherglen & Hamilton West from Labour, the first of six seats they take from Jeremy Corbyn's party First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie with some her newly elected MP's at the Glasgow count Getty General election 2019: How the night unfolded 1.50am - The Tories gain Wrexham from Labour The first time the party have ever held the seat ITV General election 2019: How the night unfolded 1.52am - Labour wins Putney from the Conservatives The party's first gain of the night from the Tories BBC General election 2019: How the night unfolded 1.55am - The SNP gains its first seat from the Tories Winning Angus Press Association Images General election 2019: How the night unfolded 2.33am - Iain Duncan Smith holds on to seat The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith held on to his Chingford & Woodford Green seat, but saw his majority cut almost in half to just 1,262 Reuters General election 2019: How the night unfolded 2.46am - Conservatives gain Tom Watson's old seat The Tories gained West Bromwich West from Labour in an 11.69% swing Getty General election 2019: How the night unfolded 2.50am - Bishop Auckland, a Labour seat since 1935, becomes a Tory gain Dehenna Davison won with a majority of 7,962 CharlElmore/Twitter General election 2019: How the night unfolded 2.54am - Chuka Umunna loses out to Tories The former Streatham MP who defected from Labour to the Independent Group before switching to the Liberal Democrats, lost out to the Conservative party in Cities of London & Westminster James Moreland/Twitter General election 2019: How the night unfolded 2.58am - DUP's Westminster leader beaten Nigel Dodds was beaten by Sinn Fein's John Finucane in Belfast North Getty General election 2019: How the night unfolded 3.15am - Tories lose seat to the Lib Dems Zac Goldsmith lost his Richmond Park seat to the Liberal Democrats, the party's first gain of the night PA General election 2019: How the night unfolded 3.24am - Jeremy Corbyn announces he will not lead party in future elections The Labour leader was voted back in to the Islington North seat but described the results as "very disappointing" and said he would not lead the party in any future election campaign Reuters General election 2019: How the night unfolded 3.32am - Labour's Caroline Flint loses her seat to the Tories The first time her party has not held the seat since 1922 Sky News General election 2019: How the night unfolded 3.38am - The Tories beat Labour in Wakefield Mary Creagh lost out to Imran Ahmad-Khan in a Labour seat since 1932 Reuters General election 2019: How the night unfolded 3.42am - Boris extends his majority in Uxbridge & Ruislip South The Prime Minister said: "It does look as though this One Nation Conservative Government has been given a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done." Reuters General election 2019: How the night unfolded 3.44am - The Tories gain Rother Valley and Sedgefield 3.44am - The Conservatives gained Rother Valley, a Labour seat since 1918, and Sedgefield, which was once held by former prime minister Tony Blair AFP via Getty General election 2019: How the night unfolded 3.45am - Jo Swinson loses seat The Liberal Democrat leader lost her Dunbartonshire East seat to the SNP PA General election 2019: How the night unfolded 4.25am - Conservatives retake Kensington from Labour The Tories took back the seat with a margin of 150 votes PA General election 2019: How the night unfolded 5.15am - Major scalp for the Tories 5.15am - Dennis Skinner, Labour's Beast Of Bolsover loses his seat that had been red since 1950 AFP General election 2019: How the night unfolded 6.08am - US President Donald Trump congratulates Boris Johnson on his victory US President Donald Trump congratulates Boris Johnson on his victory https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1205368801438707713 General election 2019: How the night unfolded How the UK voted after 649 0f 650 seats General Election 2019 how the UK voted after 649 0f 650 seats. See story POLITICS Election. Infographic PA Graphics PA Graphics Press Association Images General election 2019: How the night unfolded 6.23am - Acting Lib Dem leaders announced 6.23am - Sir Ed Davey and Baroness Sal Brinton were announced as the joint acting leaders of the Liberal Democrats following Jo Swinson's defeat PA General election 2019: How the night unfolded Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street AP General election 2019: How the night unfolded State of the parties General Election 2019 state of the parties. See story POLITICS Election. Infographic PA Graphics PA Graphics Press Association Images

Brexit recap

After five weeks of intensive campaigning, during which we’ve seen shiny manifestos unveiled, politicians grilled on TV and one run-in with a milk fridge, it’s been easy to forget the Brexit gridlock which first sent British voters back to the polls for the third time in four years.

Indeed, Mr Johnson called the snap election to secure the majority needed to pass through his “oven-ready” deal, having been met with “unrelenting parliamentary obstructionism” – as he described it.

MPs initially voted to approve the prime minister’s Brexit agreement in October, but rejected his attempt to fast-track it through the Commons in order to hit the deadline at the end of the month.

In failing to push through his deal, Mr Johnson was subsequently forced to ask the EU to delay Brexit until 31 January – despite previously saying he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than request a new extension.

But with the required majority now to hand, the prime minister stands poised to win approval for the terms of departure agreed between his government and the 27 remaining member states of the EU.

Boris Johnson speaks from outside 10 Downing Street after being returned to power (REUTERS)

So, what next for Brexit?

The government is expected to re-introduce the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to the Commons next week, providing faithful voters with an “early Christmas present”. Realistically, this could mean MPs sitting on Friday for the bill’s first reading.

With a parliamentary recess set to be held over Christmas, as is tradition, MPs will then return in January to pass the bill – an all-but guaranteed outcome given the Conservatives’ majority.

The government will have a matter of weeks to finalise the legislation, tie up any loose threads and get the deal passed, at which point it will be presented to the European Parliament to be ratified. Then, on 31 January, Britain will finally leave the EU.

That’s that, right?

To put it simply: no. The next step for the prime minister will be to negotiate a trade deal with the EU – and the clock is already ticking.

The withdrawal agreement that Mr Johnson aims to implement next month involves the UK handing over a financial settlement of more than £30bn to Brussels and withdrawing from EU political structures, but does not guarantee the kind of trade deal that would avoid disruption to food and medicine imports, transport and the erection of tariff barriers.

With a final agreement deadline set for the end of the June 2020 – at which point the UK has to decide whether or not to extend the transition period, something Mr Johnson has ruled out – the Conservatives have a matter of months to secure favourable trading terms.

The EU’s director-general for trade, Sabine Weyand, previously warned that this timescale will only allow for a “bare bones” deal at best. If no trade deal has been agreed by the end of June, then the UK faces the prospect of a hard Brexit come December 2020.

The independent UK in a Changing Europe think tank warned earlier this month that leaving without a free trade agreement (FTA) at the end of 2020 could deliver a hit of between 3.2 to 4.5 per cent to GDP, cutting the government’s annual income by up to £28bn.

If an agreement is reached in time, it will then need to be ratified by the EU before coming into force. For a process that typically takes years to conclude from start to finish, the Tories have 11 months to engineer a favourable position for Britain as the country prepares to take the plunge.

Given the UK is already aligned to EU regulations and practices, Mr Johnson is confident negotiations should be a straightforward affair. But with the Tories eager to leave the customs union and single market, thereby granting the country the license to diverge from EU rules and form deals with other nations, critics are expecting tricky and testing times ahead.

So, anything else to consider?