There followed a night of tumult, upheaval, tears and even comedy – here are some of the most notable moments.
Clash of the Titans
The night’s most farcical electoral jockeying came from two candidates who weren’t even standing in the same constituency – Lord Buckethead and Count Binface.
The latter, in reality comedian Jon Harvey, challenged Theresa May in Maidenhead in 2017 under the guise of ‘Buckethead’ – however, he was then subject to a copyright infringement claim by fellow comedian Todd Durham, who created the Lord Buckethead character for the 1984 movie Gremloids.
You gotta love the British. Boris jus declared winner in his MP seat. He was contesting against Elmo, Count Binface and Lord Buckethead. This is not a joke. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/2gCz5EzTfo
— Data... (@Mphoeng_M) December 13, 2019
Harvey duly jettisoned the persona, and became Count Binface – but Lord Buckethead, representing the Official Monster Raving Looney Party and approved by Durham, stood in Uxbridge and South Ruislip – Johnson’s constituency – winning 125 votes for Binface’s 69.
Bye Bye Swot
Following a campaign widely regarded to have been uninspiring and sub-par at-best, Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson lost her East Dunbartonshire seat to the Scottish National Party by a tight margin by less than 200 votes.
Nicola Sturgeon reacts to Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson losing her seat to the SNP.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 13, 2019
Follow the #GeneralElection results live: https://t.co/meuSxFO6V9 pic.twitter.com/MeuyWi4DXR
Having boasted over the course of the campaign she could be in Downing Street by Christmas, she was allegedly reduced to tears by the result – meanwhile, SNP leader and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon celebrated the win in a manner reminiscent of a vindictive teenager.
“It didn’t look very magnanimous, your reaction,” said Sky News’ Dermot Murnaghan – in response, she said she was “understandably excited reaction”, but nonetheless offered clearly less than heartfelt “commiserations” to the fallen Swinson.
Incendiary Infighting
When the scale of Labour’s disastrous performance became clear, different factions within the party immediately began engaging in pitched verbal shootouts. The most brutal proverbial gunfire was provided by former Home Secretary Alan Johnson, who accused Momentum founder Jon Lansman of being a “cult” and engaging in juvenile and ineffective “student politics.
“I want them out of the party. I want Momentum gone. Go back to your student politics and your little left wing. Corbyn was a disaster on the doorstep. Everyone knew he couldn’t lead the working class out of a paper bag”, he added.
History Fail?
Conservative Mark Francois, notorious for making incendiary and embarrassing comments on national TV, made perhaps his most amazing allegation to date, claiming Labour’s loss of previously rock-solid seats – which he dubbed the ‘red wall’ – in the north of England to the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years previously.
“Labour’s ‘red wall’ is analogous to the Berlin Wall of a totalitarian state?” asked the BBC’s Andrew Neil perplexedly.
