A lot of Labour supporters could be celebrating the General Election shock exit poll far too early, as broadcasters predict a hung parliament.
According to the exit poll published at 10pm, Theresa May’s decision to call a snap election has cost her party 17 seats and their majority - defying the near universal expectation that the Tories would make gains.
Before any actual results were called, Labour supporters appeared jubilant.
Gary Lineker, who has been a scathing critic of the Tory Government’s policies on child refugees, tweeted May had “won own goal of the season”.
Singer Lily Allen tweeted only the word “hung” the moment the poll was revealed, then laughter.
Writer Danny Baker tweeted “bravo, bravo everyone, let’s see” straight after the poll but added that May’s intended aim of winning a mandate for Brexit was “not happening”.
It wasn’t just celebrities getting excited about the poll. Two former spokesmen for Labour leaders were
Tony Blair’s former spokesman Alastair Campbell tweeted that the exit poll showed the election had been “a rejection of May and hard Brexit”. “A vote for one to go and the other to be revisited,” he wrote.
Jeremy Corbyn’s former spokesman Matt Zarb-Cousin did not hold back, saying that the left-wing leader was “better than all you melts”.
Corbyn supporters were elated that their man appeared to have defied expectations.
In one London pub, Labour supporters were open-mouthed at the result.
There was even fevered speculation that Britain could be another referendum on Brexit.
But the exit poll could yet be wrong.
Journalists presenting the coverage have constantly used this caveat when citing it ahead without any results to test it against.
The first election result of the night in Newcastle Central showed a 2% swing from the Tories to Labour.
Pollster Peter Kellner said this could mean the result would be worse for Labour and better for the Tories than the exit poll predicted.