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MAJOR LEAGUE

How many seats did Boris Johnson need for a majority government?

BORIS Johnson has won the General Election with a majority that hasn't been seen since the 1980s.

But how many seats did he need to form a majority government?


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 Boris Johnson has successfully defended his position in No10, and has gained a decisive Tory majority - but what does that actually mean?
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Boris Johnson has successfully defended his position in No10, and has gained a decisive Tory majority - but what does that actually mean?Credit: EPA

How many seats are needed to form a majority Government?

There are 650 seats in the House of Commons - which means a party needs at least 326 to form a Government.

If no party gets 326 seats, larger parties may try and work with smaller ones until they have enough seats combined - this is called a coalition.

In 2017 Theresa May was forced to form a minority government with the DUP when she only won 318 seats.

Boris Johnson has, however, led the Conservatives to a 365-seat win while Jeremy Corbyn suffered a disastrous night for Labour.

A majority this big hasn't been seen in British politics since Margaret Thatcher was re-elected in 1987 with 376 Tory MPs in Parliament.

 

How many seats have each party gained in the general election?

The exit poll expected the Tories to win a massive majority, making Boris the most successful leader since Margaret Thatcher.

The poll, released at 10pm, showed:

  • Conservatives: 368
  • Labour: 191
  • SNP: 55
  • Lib Dems: 13
  • Brexit Party: 0
  • Greens: 1
  • Other: 22

The official result wasn't far off from the exit poll prediction.

 BoJo won a decisive majority in this general election
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BoJo won a decisive majority in this general election

The exit poll, which predicted the Tories would win 368 seats, was nearly spot-on - as Johnson's party now have 365 seats in the Commons.

Labour held on to more seats than anticipated, with 203 compared to the poll's 191.

The SNP bagged themselves 13 more seats - including Jo Swinson's seat in East Dunbartonshire - which brought them up to 48.

But instead of gaining one seat as the poll predicted, the Lib Dems lost one, leaving them with a total of 11.

Boris Johnson addresses the country for the first time after winning a huge majority in the election


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