Oh Jeremy Corbyn!
We voted Labour.
– Jeremy Corbyn, but I am drunk. – Why did you vote Labour?
Because, we want a new future.
Cause he's the man, he is the man.
Free school meals. Jeremy Corbyn. That's it.
Another one.
Why Labour?
Because I was insisted to by my wife.
What did she say?
She said: 'Vote Labour because it will benefit our child'.
I love Jeremy Corbyn. I love everyone who stands for Jeremy.
Cause they all were ganging up on him weren't they? That Corbyn.
I did read about that.
The Sun. Oh my god.
Exactly.
I wouldn't even look at The Sun.
Sod that.
They were having such a go at him today.
Maybe for the first time, you know, not many people were listening.
Something's got to change in this world.
Something has to change in this world.
Eight hours earlier, eight miles away.
Everything felt a little bit different.
Decision day.
Britain heading to the polls today, what does it say?
For the most important election in a generation.
Yep.
Feel like that?
I think so, yeah.
Who did you vote for?
Conservatives.
Have you voted Conservative in the past?
Once.
What's changed?
Corbyn's a knobhead.
I don't know whether this is on some funny political ley line this shopping parade
but four or five weeks ago we just pitched up here
got out the car and straight away we met people
going from Labour to Conservative.
And the first person we met.
This time it's exactly the same.
No change.
In a weird way that's true.
This place is an example of what you might
think of as old Britain.
Where we meet a succession of voters who
don't like Jeremy Corbyn
and have switched from Labour to the Conservatives.
– Who are you gonna vote for? – May.
Tell me why.
People are more worried about what's going
on in the country, ain't they really.
Like what?
Well with all these things, all these bombings and everything.
People are worried.
I don't think it's fair we should be worried in our own countries to be honest with you.
[dog barks]
And that's what he thinks.
What do you think of Mr. Corbyn?
He's alright. I think they just talk him down
cause he don't sort of bounce up and down a lot.
That's a good way of putting it.
– Have you been to vote? – I have voted.
Make sure you use your vote.
Vote Winnick, vote Labour.
Polls are open until 10pm.
Right, we're trying to keep up
with the Labour party operation here,
which is knocking up.
In other words getting people out to vote.
And they move really, really quickly.
They move with an added urgency because this is
Tory target seat number 23.
Cheers, thanks.
Who did you vote for?
Vote for Labour.
How's it felt watching it all unfold over the last two or three weeks?
It's crazy, isn't it?
That's all I can say to you.
Where'd you get your information?
I just check it on my phone.
– Facebook and all that? – Facebook and stuff.
Right.
They've already been voting.
Well thank you very much indeed.
Have you been and voted already?
Lovely, thank you goodbye.
Pretty rock solid here, init?
Yeah, kind of but we don't take them for granted.
Labour? I've been all my life.
But being this close, I mean what does that do to what you're doing today?
Well, hopefully the polls are right.
I just wondered, to what extent those 8,000 Ukip
voters in the constituency make it different this time?
That's what we don't know. That's the issue.
How much of a sense of urgency is there?
Great sense of urgency.
Has been since Queen May called the election.
Hello, sorry to bother you. I'm Julie from the Labour party.
You have been the MP here since when, remind me?
– '79. – Since '79?
How different does it feel?
This has been a very difficult election
and I knew that from the start.
You didn't fancy, after all your years of service
buying a retirement home on the coast and just leaving this all behind?
– No. – I wouldn't want to be an MP when I'm 85.
Well I'll take that into consideration.
Why do you think it is so difficult this time round?
Well Brexit is the obvious one.
What they did.
She believed that the polls were such
that the Labour party could be crucified
and we'll have to see whether she turns out to be right or wrong.
– Did you vote Labour? – No
Right, here's a question. You've got The Sun on the dashboard there.
Do you think they're a bit harsh on Jeremy Corbyn?
– No. – Really?
No. What I've read about him and heard about him
and his past life in the IRA.
I'm no longer a Labour voter.
And you were before?
All my life.
Even last time, two years ago?
Ukip
– Ah you went Labour, Ukip, Conservative? – I went Labour, Ukip, now I've gone to Conservatives
– Cheers. – Thank you.
Down the road in Bloxwich, once again
the succession of people are trooping in and out
of the polling station to vote against Corbyn.
But there are also flickerings of a new different kind of politics.
Which party do you think you're gonna vote for?
– Labour – Labour
Labour?
– I've never voted before – And what have you picked up about
the Labour party the last three or four weeks?
Well they're more about young people really.
I know a lot of people are going Labour, like my age.
Why is that?
Because it's like, they're saying about the uni getting rid of tuition fees.
So obviously young people are gonna go for that.
It worries me a bit you know that Britain feels quite a divided place now age wise.
– Mmm. – I have very very different conversations
with old people and young people.
It seems to be the case that in this part of Walsall
Which to be blunt is, very white compared to where we've been.
The only people who have voted Labour are young people.
Good evening and welcome to the BBC election centre.
I've never been as interested in an exit poll, ever.
Well I'm nervous but we've met a hell of a lot of people
in various places who've invested a great deal of hope in this election.
People with a real keen sense of what might be at stake.
And they must be on tenterhooks.
And what we're saying is, the Conservatives are the largest party.
Note they don't have an overall majority at this stage.
– 314 Conservatives. – Good heavens.
That's amazing for Corbyn and terrible for Theresa May.
There is no precedent for it in modern history.
And at that point it's time to get in the car and go and find the future.
Recent years have shown the capacity of politics to surpsie
and here we go again.
Well in a good way, we're pretty taken aback.
Most of the people we met today were in a different sort of place, but maybe that's
the old Britain and the places that are pushing this election towards the Labour party and
away from the Tories are very different.
They're diverse, they're younger, they're more educated, they're more urban.
Because there's a young push for Labour, isn't it? Young party.
– Young party? – Yep.
JME voted for Labour, so I followed JME.
Who's Jamie?
JME.
Grime. Skepta.
Ahh, sorry I'm an old square. I'm an old square.
Key election results as they happen.
So he's won?
It looks like, according to the exit polls, so we're a bit cautious.
Conservative?
Theresa May's lost the majority.
– Yes – Shut up.
And Labour have put on seats.
The Labour party has done far better than a lot of people thought.
Hooray. Come on Labour, get in there.
Every time that Labour wins a constituency, we're drinking tequila.
Obviously, a few of these people have had a bit to drink.
But it's the absolute reverse of eight miles up the road today.
90% of the people here have voted Labour.
there's a very very clear division in age and political preference.
Times are changing aren't they now, the way things are.
The way we've been brought up, we go to school
with people from Poland, India, Asia, anywhere.
The kebabs people walk up and down here, it's a Turkish kebab.
Do you know what I mean.
The doctors they're going seeing, they're Asian people
and I think they're just narrow-minded people to be honest with you.
Well how old are you, under 30?
– 30 – 22
Old people are stuck in their ways, simple as that.
You gotta vote Labour, simple as.
Fox hunting!
Thank you very much.
And how old are you?
– 25 – There you go, it's you.
You might have made the difference.
In this part of the Midlands, the story of Labour's amazing night has a bittersweet ending.
We've belatedly arrived at the Walsall count.
Counting is mostly done.
There are some anxious Labour faces here.
– You after me again? – Dunno we just got here.
What an incredible business.
Well David's lost.
Have you?
The Ukip vote collapsed and we just couldn't stop it.
You've been the MP here since 1979?
How do you feel?
Well, obviously disappointed.
The overall position of Jeremy Corbyn is a very good election.
He energised a great number of people, particularly young people.
Well, as is happening all over the country, the night ends on a high for Labour here.
They've held Walsall South
and the sort of the mood of the country, around Brexit particularly,
seems to have shifted.
Suddenly, the young, liberal, progressive, urban part of the country is on the front foot foot.
And the Brexity, Conservative bit is on the back foot.
Walking away from this you do feel that there are now two countries
and they might be worlds apart.
But here's the main thing. Three weeks ago everything looked bleak.
And now, there's a hell of a lot of hope.