Jubilant Labour gloated that an 'electoral meteor' has hit today after Keir Starmer was projected to get a huge majority.
Moments after ballot stations closed at 10 pm, the dramatic exit poll was released - showing Sir Keir winning 410 of the 650 seats. That would be a majority of 170 - just short of the 179 achieved by Tony Blair.
The Tories are expected to be slashed from the 365 secured less than five years ago to just 131 - their worst performance in modern political history. A host of big beasts, from Jeremy Hunt to Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt could fall victim to the purge.
In the first tangible evidence of the hammering, Labour's Heidi Alexander took ex-Cabinet minister Robert Buckland's Swindon South seat with a 9,000 majority.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems could get 61 MPs - and Nigel Farage's Reform insurgents are predicted to have 13 after effectively leeching millions of votes from the Conservatives.
That could include Mr Farage taking Clacton, while Conservative sources in Great Yarmouth confirmed they expected Reform to triumph there.
The SNP would be slashed to 10, meaning they would no longer be the biggest party in Scotland.
Although the exit survey, run for broadcasters by polling guru Sir John Curtice, is not guaranteed to be exact, it has accurately reflected the outcome in the past few elections.
Sir Keir gave a muted reaction to the bombshell, posting on social media: 'To everyone who has campaigned for Labour in this election, to everyone who voted for us and put their trust in our changed Labour Party - thank you.'
But his allies were far less restrained, with Lord Mandelson boasting that he was 'gobsmacked' and an 'electoral meteor' had 'struck planet Earth'. He said it would have required a 'superman' to save the Tories and Rishi Sunak 'is not Superman'.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner - who could be set to become deputy PM within hours - said the numbers were 'encouraging' and praised Sir Keir's leadership.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting was in tears as he was told the figures on live TV.
Tories immediately descended into bitter recriminations, with demands for Rishi Sunak to quit.
A former Cabinet minister - who regards their significant majority as under threat - said Mr. Sunak had 'knifed' Boris Johnson and would be remembered as the 'worst PM ever'.
But Sir Robert gave a stark warning against the Tories lurching to the right, saying the party risked being like 'bald men fighting over a comb' if it treated politics as 'performance art' and tried to outflank Reform.
