Labour Party set to end 14 years of Conservative rule in UK general election landslide, exit poll projects

London (CNN) — The center-left Labour Party will win Britain’s general election by a landslide, according to a major exit poll, ending a 14-year era of Conservative rule in decisive fashion and putting its leader Keir Starmer on course to become prime minister in the coming hours.

Labour was forecast to win 410 seats, while the Conservatives will drop to just 131 seats, according to the exit poll, a rejection of the ruling party by Britain’s electorate that had been anticipated for months.

The exit poll was conducted by Ipsos for the BBC, ITV and Sky, and has historically been an accurate barometer of how the country has voted. Votes will be counted throughout the night, with Starmer likely to replace Rishi Sunak as prime minister on Friday.

The expected results fall short of some, more dramatic predictions made by pollsters during the campaign. But they mark a severe collapse by the Tories since the last election, in 2019, when former Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the party to a landslide victory.

Since then the party has descended into a bitter internal war, slumping from leader to leader and scandal to scandal. Starmer pinned his disciplined campaign on a one-word promise – “Change” – and benefited from a woeful To...