Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn flashed a smile as he leaves his North London home last nightCredit: i-Images Picture Agency
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Jeremy Corbyn smiles as he arrives for the result of his North London constituency during the early hours the morningCredit: AP:Associated Press
By comparison Ed Miliband lost 26 seats at the last election.
Just hours before the polls closed, senior sources in the Labour Party were claiming a Tory majority of 50 seats eould be a "success".
In a statement just hours after the exit poll had suggested, the leader wrote: "I want to send my thanks to everyone who voted for our manifesto and its radical vision for a fairer Britain.
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Corbyn was back from the dead last night — with the shock exit poll suggesting he was in with a chance of power
"Our team has worked so hard on this campaign - from door knocking to social media - and it's great we have won so much support across the country.
"Whatever the final result, our positive campaign has changed politics for the better."
Former Labour Home Secretary and Corbyn critic David Blunkett said: “I just want to congratulate Jeremy Corbyn on an extremely effective anti-austerity campaign that has mobilised a large number of young people.”
Labour insiders last night said the exit poll was the result of a “disastrous” campaign by Theresa May as well as the offer Labour’s manifesto put before the British public.
A month ago the Tories had a 22-point lead in the polls and Mrs May was dubbed the most popular PM in modern history.
Experts had been predicting a Tory landslide — yet Mr Corbyn had vowed to dig in and stay on as leader of the Labour Party even if he had suffered that humiliation.
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Tom Watson's hopes of taking over as Labour leader have now fallen backCredit: Getty Images
And despite rumours of leadership bids from veterans such as Yvette Cooper, sources told The Sun the radical leftie was going nowhere.
A source said: “If you forget Jeremy Corbyn, the manifesto was packed full of policies that have proved more popular than people would have thought.
“That means we’ve been able to shift the party to the left and it will be hard for someone like Yvette to come in now.”
Insiders said Ms Cooper was last night weighing up whether to call for change at the top of the party at her constituency declaration in Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford.
Former leadership contender Chuka Umunna was also said to be considering his options.
One source said: “Both Yvette and Chuka have been on manoeuvres.
“It was just a question of how they would act and when.”
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Despite rumours of leadership bids from veterans such as Yvette Cooper, sources told The Sun the radical leftie was going nowhereCredit: AP:Associated Press
Mr Blunkett added that he regretted the fact the party was so divided — and said that Labour could have done even better if there had been a more “credible” team around Mr Corbyn.
He said: “If there’s a will to have an elected Shadow Cabinet and the trade unions are on board we can make Labour a fantastic force.”
Labour had been braced for big defeats in the North East and Midlands and may lose Tony Blair’s old Sedgefield seat to the Tories.
So-called moderate Labour candidates yesterday admitted there was unlikely to be an immediate leadership attempt.
They claimed Mr Corbyn needed to “own” the defeat.
But they blasted the leftie and his aides for costing well-known Labour MPs their seats.
Former Shadow Ministers Gloria del Piero and Mary Creagh were among those facing defeat yesterday as working-class voters looked set to turn their backs on Labour.
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Insiders said Ms Cooper was last night weighing up whether to call for change at the top of the party at her constituency declaration in Normanton, Pontefract and CastlefordCredit: Rex Features
Liz Kendall, a one-time Blairite leadership contender, was also said to be in difficulty in Leicester West. Widely respected Wes Streeting was battling to hold on in Ilford North.
The party faced big losses in traditional Midlands and North East heartlands, with insiders fearing the Tories would win Middlesbrough South, Bishop Auckland and Darlington.
The Tories were hoping a swing from Ukip could help them prise Sedgefield from Labour’s Phil Wilson.
By 1am Labour had made its first gain in Scotland - taking Rutherglen and Hamilton West from the SNP.
It has also held on to key Tory target Wrexham in Wales.
But the exit poll will give Mr Corbyn a huge boost and he is likely to “cling on” and stay in charge at least until the Labour Party Conference in Brighton this September.
His followers hope to change the rules on leadership elections at conference to guarantee the hard-left keep their grip on the party.
A senior ally said: “One simple reason he won’t resign is because deputy leader Tom Watson would take over. And there’s hatred there.”
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said: "People wanted a positive debate, but they got a nasty campaign from the Tories and a positive campaign from Jeremy."
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