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Labour will make “the appropriate decisions” about Jeremy Corbyn’s future as party leader once the final result of the general election is known on Friday, John McDonnell has said.
According to the exit poll released at 10pm on Thursday evening, the Conservative Party looks to have won a majority of 86.
The joint Sky/BBC/ITV poll gives the Tories 368 seats with Labour on 191, the SNP on 55 and LibDems 13.
By the next election, due in 2024, Labour will almost certainly have had just one election-winning leader in 50 years.
Speaking to the BBC moments after the exit poll was published, McDonnell said the result was “extremely disappointing”.
The shadow chancellor, Corbyn’s right-hand-man, said the “appropriate decisions” will be taken on the future of Corbyn’s leadership tomorrow.
“I think Brexit has dominated, it has dominated everything by the looks of it,” he said.
“We thought other issues could cut through and there would be a wider debate, from this evidence there clearly wasn’t.”
On the future of Corbyn’s leadership, McDonnell added: “Let’s see the results themselves. As I say, the appropriate decisions will be made and we’ll always make the decisions in the best interests of our party.”
Labour figures seen as likely to run for the leadership if Corbyn stands down include shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry and shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey.
Reacting to the exit poll, shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner told Sky News it was “deeply depressing”.
“If that is the case then obviously it’s a devastating result for us – and not just for us. [...] It’s about all the people who were really needing a Labour victory to improve their lives,” he said.
“It certainly doesn’t look good. In one sense we always knew this election was going to be focused on Brexit and that was the strategy that the Conservatives played.”
He added: “My heart goes out to all the people who had given their hope to the Labour Party. That’s what pains me the most about a prediction like this.”
Asked if Labour needed a new leader, Gardiner said: “These are things that will be discussed by the leadership of the party in the next few days.”
For the exit poll, Ipsos Mori conducted tens of thousands of interviews with people after they had voted at 144 polling stations across the country.
The poll has produced very accurate projections of the actual result at recent elections, although in 2015 it failed to foresee the Tories’ eventual working majority of 12 seats, having predicted a hung parliament.