Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 13 Dec 2019

1. Tories win election as Labour crumbles and Swinson loses seat

The Conservatives have secured their biggest general election win since the 1980s, with a predicted majority of 78 before the final seats are declared this morning. Labour looks to have lost 59 seats as the so-called “red wall” across the Midlands and the north of England crumbles, while Jo Swinson has quit as Lib Dem leader after losing her seat on a night that left her party with 11 MPs.

What will a Conservative majority do in government?

2. Johnson and Trump hail ‘stonking’ Tory victory

Boris Johnson has told staffers at the Conservative’s HQ that the party’s big gains in the general election give him a “stonking mandate” to deliver Brexit which “no one can now refute”. US President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to the Tory leader, adding that the UK and US are now “free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT”.

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What is One Nation Conservatism?

3. Sturgeon calls for indyref2 following SNP landslide

Nationalists won a landslide victory in Scotland last night, with the Scottish National Party taking 48 of the country’s 59 seats at Westminster - up from 35 in 2017. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has hailed the victory as a “renewed, refreshed and strengthened” mandate for a second vote on Scottish independence. Labour retains just one MP in Scotland, in Edinburgh South.

Arguments for and against Scottish independence

4. Corbyn: I will not lead Labour at next election

Jeremy Corbyn has promised to resign the Labour leadership before the next general election after leading the party to its worst defeat since 1935. Speaking as he was returned to Parliament by voters in his Islington constituency, Corbyn said he would stay on initially as leader during a “process of reflection”. He blamed Brexit for overriding other election issues.

Jeremy Corbyn to resign - but not yet

5. Pro-choice MP Creasy joined on stage by newborn daughter

Labour MP Stella Creasy retained Walthamstow in east London last night with a majority of more than 30,000, despite a controversial campaign to oust her by a Christian group funded from the US. Creasy - who was targeted because of her role in legalising abortion in Northern Ireland - gave her victory speech with her two-week-old daughter Hettie sleeping in a sling across her chest.

6. NZ divers search for bodies around volcano

Police divers are searching for the final two missing bodies of a total 16 people now believed to have died when the White Island volcano erupted on Monday. A total of 47 tourists and guides were on the island when the volcano erupted, of whom 20 are in intensive care with severe burns.

New Zealand volcano: police say no more survivors expected on White Island

7. Trump-Ukraine impeachment vote postponed

The US House Judiciary Committee last night abruptly postponed a vote that would have moved forward Democrat-led attempts to impeach President Donald Trump for putting pressure on Ukraine to smear his political rival Joe Biden. The unexpected decision to postpone came after a heated 14-hour debate that was split along party lines.

Donald Trump’s impeachment timeline

8. Men born small ‘at greater risk of infertility’

Newborn boys weighing less than 3kg (6lb 10oz) may be at greater risk of infertility as adults, a study in Denmark suggests. Researchers from Aarhus University believe that poor growth in the womb can lead to poor development of sperm production. The study found that 8.3% of men born small had fertility issues by their 30s, compared with 5.7% of men who were an average weight at birth.

9. Stripper thrills 89-year-old care home resident

A stripper granted an 89-year-old woman’s Christmas wish this week by visiting her care home - and pulling off his fireman’s uniform to reveal an oiled-up body beneath. The woman, who has not been named, said that the “big biceps” stripper “made me feel like I was young again” and that she had “loved every second” of his show at the care home in the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds.

10. Briefing: the hot topics on Twitter in 2019

As 2019 draws to a close, few would dispute that the last 12 months have been a hell of a journey, both in Britain and across the world.

Twitter has been a companion to many people as they digest and debate global events ranging from Game of Thrones to the Hong Kong protests and, of course, Brexit. So what are the hottest topics on the social networking site this year?

What everyone has been talking about on Twitter in 2019