Will they bounce back? The Conservative Party has been decimated in Britain’s general election. Some say the “most successful party in history” could now be consigned to it.
Devastation for Tories after 14 year rule
Way out: Rishi Sunak and wife, Akshata Murty, after voting in Yorkshire yesterday. His Conservative party faces one of the worst defeats in history. Glossary
Tory - A member of the Conservative party.
Tories - The Tory Party was the former name of the Conservative Party. The phrase is still used to refer to Conservatives.
Majority - More than half.
Sir Robert Peel - A 19th Century British prime minister, and founder of London's Metropolitan Police.
Right-wing - Sometimes referred to as 'conservative', this is a range of political beliefs that emphasise the value of tradition, individual freedom and responsibility, low taxes and a hands-off approach to government.
IFS - Institute for Fiscal Studies, an independent economics research group in the UK.
Liberal Democrats - Also known as the Lib Dems, a liberal political party in the UK.
Blue wall - A set of parliamentary constituencies in southern England which usually vote Conservative, but could be vulnerable to the Labour Party or Lib Dems due to disagreements with Brexit.
Reform UK - Officially Reform UK, a political party set up in 2018 as the Brexit Party. Its most prominent figure is Nigel Farage.
MP - Member of Parliament. There are 650 MPs representing people in different areas of the UK.
Corn laws - The Corn Laws banned the import of cheap grains, in order to protect British farmers. It was repealed after crop failure in Ireland caused famine, and to promote free trade.
Margaret Thatcher - Britain’s first female prime minister (from 1979 to 1990) and the longest-serving prime minister of the modern era. She was a Conservative.
First Past the Post - A voting system in which the winner is simply whoever comes first in each area. As such, the winning party almost never has a majority of the vote, and sometimes might even win a smaller share of the vote than its opponent.
Partygate - Nickname given to the controversy over a series of illegal gatherings hosted in 10 Downing Street, Johnson’s office and home, during the Covid-19 lockdown.