Broadcasters have begun their extensive coverage of the General Election results, with stand-out moments already circulating widely on social media.
BBC One, ITV, Sky News, Channel 4 and GB News all have a team of established journalists leading the live coverage of the election throughout the night.
Here, the PA news agency looks at a number of moments which are gaining popularity online:
– Exit poll
When the exit poll was announced, GB News appeared to broadcast the wrong figures on screen.
The exit poll suggested that Labour was on course for 410 seats, with the Conservative Party reduced to 131.
However, the statistics portrayed on the bottom of the screen on GB News had the Labour and Conservative figures the wrong way round, before they were swiftly removed.
– Nadine Dorries and Alastair Campbell
Former Labour communications chief Mr Campbell appeared on Channel 4 to serve as a presenter alongside his The Rest Is Politics podcast co-host Rory Stewart, with coverage headed up by Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Emily Maitlis.
Former Tory MP Ms Dorries, who served as culture secretary under former prime minister Boris Johnson, got into a heated debate with Mr Campbell as she appeared as a guest on the programme.
Ms Dorries asked Mr Campbell if she could finish her point, saying “I don’t think I interrupted you”, as she outlined reasons why the Conservative Party were not performing well.
Talking about Mr Johnson, Mr Campbell said: “One of the reasons why your party has lost so badly tonight is because you keep defending a liar and because other people keep defending Liz Truss, who crashed the economy.”
In response, Ms Dorries referenced a series of bruising rows between the Labour government and the BBC over its coverage of the US-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003.
At the time, a Radio 4 Today programme reported that the government had “sexed up” an intelligence dossier in the run-up to the conflict to strengthen the case for war.
She said: “You just don’t like it Alastair, you don’t like it when things come back at you.”
After the discussion, Ms Dorries disappeared from the table as well as former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, who were replaced by Ann Widdecombe and former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi.
Mr Guru-Murthy said: “Nadine has gone off to talk to some other people and she’ll be back later on in the morning, and Kwasi has also taken a break.”
Earlier during her appearance on the show, Ms Dorries accused Mr Campbell of sexism.
Mr Campbell said “honestly Nadine, you’ve got to get over Boris Johnson”, before Dorries said: “Actually, I find that quite a sexist comment.”
– Shocking sounds
The Sky News programme had a live countdown to the exit poll results during its coverage.
However when they were announced, forecasting the Labour Party to win a landslide 170-seat majority, only noises could be heard from the studio.
Shocked noises from the team, led by Kay Burley, continued for 10 seconds before she was heard jumping back in to analyse the results.
Words including “oh my God” and “woah” could also be heard from the team, which included political editor Beth Rigby, Sunday breakfast show presenter Sir Trevor Phillips, and data and economics editor Ed Conway.
– Larry The Cat
The Sky News studio created a virtual Downing Street with a digital version of “special guest” Larry The Cat.
Larry lives in Number 10 and is known as “Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office”.
An account on X said the 16-year-old tabby is “living with my fifth (soon to be sixth) Prime Minister”.
– Big hat energy
Lucia Bridgeman, the High Sheriff of Northumberland, announced the results in the Blyth and Ashington constituency amd gained attention on social media because she wore a large brimmed hat adorned with feathers, with a matching ruffled white collar.
Labour secured 20,030 votes, while Reform UK gained 10,857 votes and the Tories came third with 6,121 votes in the constituency.
– Trending
Despite the attention on the ballot boxes, Love Island remained the number one trending topic on X, formerly Twitter, an hour after the exit poll was released late on Thursday evening.
The exit poll predicted Sir Keir Starmer was on course to be the UK’s next prime minister amid a landslide Labour victory.
Source Agencies
