'Extremely disappointing': Labour's John McDonnell reacts to exit poll

Labour's John McDonnell has spoken of his ‘shock’ and ‘disappointment’ at the general election exit poll, which predicts an overwhelming Conservative majority.

Speaking to Andrew Neil at the BBC, who described the projection as a ‘catastrophe’, the shadow chancellor said: 'Let’s be honest about how terrible it is, probably more than disappointing.'

The Conservatives are projected to win a huge 368 seats.

‘If it is anywhere near, it will be extremely disappointing for the party overall,' Mr McDonnell said. 'I thought it would be closer and I think most people thought the polls were narrowing.

‘We’ve had nine years of a Conservative government, which many people think has been pretty lacklustre. It is a Conservative government that you have said is going to sell the NHS to Donald Trump.’

Mr McDonnell said it was too early to say whether Jeremy Corbyn should stand down as Labour leader.

'We’ll see the results in the morning and then we’ll make the proper decision,' he said. 'We’ll always make the best decision for our party.'

According to the exit poll, Labour has crumbled, with former Labour prime minister Tony Blair’s Sedgefield seat predicted to turn Conservative.

Another disappointment for Mr Corbyn arrived later in the night, when Blyth Valley, a Labour seat since it was created, was taken by the Conservatives.

Mr McDonnell, who is standing for re-election as MP for Hayes and Harlington, will have his votes counted at Brunel University.

Many voters took to Twitter to express their disappointment and concerns, mostly about the future of the NHS. They mentioned in their tweets that Mr Johnson and the Tories were “going to sell NHS for the next five years”.

Comments on Twitter rocketed under #ElectionResults2019 after the first announcements. In the first hour, about 12,000 tweets were posted.

Many people showed they were upset at anybody who had voted for the Tories.