British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party today suffered a major blow in the snap election after it failed spectacularly to maintain its majority in the parliament, creating new uncertainties ahead of the Brexit negotiations.

The Conservatives, however, emerged as the single largest party in the election for Britain's 650-seat parliament.

With results yet to be declared for only eight seats, Conservatives had won 313 and Labour secured 260. A party required 326 seats to win the election.

Though May won her Maidenhead seat in south-east England with 37,780 votes, she faced pressure to resign after losing her parliamentary majority.

Ahead of the final result, May said Britain needed a "period of stability".

"The Conservative party is on course to winning the most votes and it will be incumbent on us that we provide that period of stability," May said, seemingly conceding the exit poll predictions of a hung parliament and her dashed hopes of a landslide win.

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who defeated predictions to improve his party's performance in the election, called on May "to go" to make way for his party.

"Politics has changed and this is people saying they have had quite enough… I am very proud of the results that are coming in and the vote for hope. The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate and the mandate is that she has lost seats," he said.

Corbyn earlier claimed on Twitter that the Labour party had "changed the face of British politics". </s> Theresa May has arrived at Buckingham Palace to seek permission from the Queen to form a new government. It comes just hours after it was revealed that the Prime Minister had lost her Commons majority in the General Election, which resulted in a hung parliament. Mrs May faces ending up with 12 fewer seats than when she called the election. She is seeking to stay in office on the understanding that the Democratic Unionists of Northern Ireland will support her minority administration.

Theresa May leaves Downing Street to meet the Queen

The DUP, who are the largest unionist political party in Northern Ireland, said their desire to form a coalition with Mrs May is driven by concerns about Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister. No party has an overall majority; the Conservatives remain the largest party with 318 seats so far while Labour currently have 261 - with 326 required for a majority and just one seat left to be called.

The Prime Minister was met by a sea of cameras as she left her official residence

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, has called for the Prime Minister to resign following the election result. He told the BBC: "The Prime Minister called this election because she wanted a mandate. Well the mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country."

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However, Mrs May has signalled that she intends to continue as Prime Minister, stating that the country needs "stability" with the start of the Brexit negotiations just ten days away. It's thought that her meeting with the Queen will last for around 40 minutes, after which she will make a statement outside Downing Street. </s> United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Theresa May’s gamble of calling snap polls spectacularly backfired on Friday with the British electorate delivering a hung Parliament and forcing her to seek the support of a small Northern Irish party for staying in power, as the country braces for hard Brexit talks.

May, jolted by the electoral setback, however, remained defiant to calls for her resignation and vowed to form a minority government with the informal backing of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

“I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen, and I will now form a government – a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country,” a grim-faced May said in a statement delivered outside 10 Downing Street.

May, 60, said the two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and she believes that they will be able to work together in the interest of the country.

“This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful Brexit deal that works for everyone in this country – securing a new partnership with the EU which guarantees our long-term prosperity. That’s what people voted for last June. That’s what we will deliver. Now let’s get to work,” she said.

Though May’s Conservative Party emerged as the single largest party on a sensational election night, the impressive show by the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn sent the British politics into turmoil, putting May in a complex situation ahead of the Brexit talks scheduled to start on June 19.

The results – a sort of turnaround in fortunes for both major parties – have thrown that timetable into doubt. With results declared for nearly all of the 650 seats, Conservatives won 318 while the opposition Labour secured 262, leaving neither party anywhere close to the 326 seats required for an overall majority. The Tories will now have to rely on the DUP’s 10 MPs to get things done. DUP leader Arlene Foster confirmed she will enter talks with May in an effort to pursue “stability” in Parliament, without giving further details on the conditions for the party’s support.

The shock defeat for Conservatives – despite the pre-poll projections of a comfortable majority – was seen by the British media as a “humiliation” for May to continue in her position.

Corbyn, 68, may not have dislodged May in the polls but the Labour Party’s strong showing prompted him to demand her resignation, saying she “lost votes, lost support and lost confidence” of the people.

May in April had chosen to call the election three years ahead of the schedule to try to strengthen her hand in talks with the European Union to pull Britain out of the single market. The result threw the UK in a political turmoil amid increasing terror-related incidents. </s> London: British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election backfired spectacularly, as her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament and pressure mounted on her Friday to resign.

The shock result throws British politics into chaos and could send Britain's negotiations to leave the European Union — due to start June 19 — into disarray. The pound lost more than 2 cents against the dollar.

With 636 of 650 seats in the House of Commons declared, the Conservatives had 310 to the Labour Party's 258. Even if the Conservatives won all the remaining seats, the party would fall short of the 326 needed for an outright majority. Before the election the Conservatives had 330 seats and Labour 229.

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May called the snap election in the hope of increasing her majority and strengthening Britain's hand in exit talks with the European Union with a "strong and stable government." Instead, the result means the Conservatives will need to rely on support from smaller parties to govern, with more instability and the chance of yet another early election.

"This is a very bad moment for the Conservative Party, and we need to take stock," Conservative lawmaker Anna Soubry said. "And our leader needs to take stock as well."

The results confounded those who said Labour's left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was electorally toxic. Written off by many pollsters, Labour surged in the final weeks of the campaign. It drew strong support from young people, who appeared to have turned out to vote in bigger-than-expected numbers.

As she was resoundingly re-elected to her Maidenhead seat in southern England, May looked tense and did not spell out what she planned to do.

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"The country needs a period of stability, and whatever the results are the Conservative Party will ensure we fulfil our duty in ensuring that stability," she said.

Many predicted she would soon be gone.

"Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government, then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative Party leader," former Conservative Treasury chief George Osborne said on ITV.

Corbyn said May should "go ... and make way for a government that is truly representative of all the people of this country." Speaking after being re-elected to his London seat, Corbyn said the election result means "politics has changed" and voters have rejected Conservative austerity.

The result was bad news for the Scottish National Party, which lost about 20 of its 54 seats. Among the casualties was Alex Salmond, a former first minister of Scotland and one of the party's highest-profile lawmakers.

The losses complicate the SNP's plans to push for a new referendum on Scottish independence as Britain prepares to leave the EU. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the idea of a new independence referendum "is dead. That's what we have seen tonight."

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May had hoped the election would focus on Brexit, but that never happened, as both the Conservatives and Labour said they would respect voters' wishes and go through with the divorce.

May, who went into the election with a reputation for quiet competence, was criticized for a lackluster campaigning style and for a plan to force elderly people to pay more for their care, a proposal her opponents dubbed the "dementia tax." As the polls suggested a tightening race, pollsters spoke less often of a landslide and raised the possibility that May's majority would be eroded.

Then, attacks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London twice brought the campaign to a halt, sent a wave of anxiety through Britain and forced May to defend the government's record on fighting terrorism. Corbyn accused the Conservatives of undermining Britain's security by cutting the number of police on the streets.

Eight people were killed near London Bridge on Saturday when three men drove a van into pedestrians and then stabbed revelers in an area filled with bars and restaurants. Two weeks earlier, a suicide bomber killed 22 people as they were leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

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Rachel Sheard, who cast her vote near the site of the London Bridge attack, said the election certainly wasn't about Brexit.

"I don't think that's in the hearts and minds of Londoners at the minute, (not) nearly as much as security is," said Sheard, 22. "It was very scary on Saturday."

Steven Fielding, a professor of politics at the University of Nottingham, said Britain had seen an election "in which the personal authority of a party leader has disappeared in an unprecedented way."

"If she had got the majority she wanted, she would have been a supreme political colossus," he said. "She did not get that and she's a hugely diminished figure. She's a zombie prime minister." </s> Theresa May looks set to be backed by the Democratic Unionist Party as she attempts to run a minority government following her General Election disaster.

Downing Street said an outline agreement on a 'confidence and supply' arrangement had been reached which will be put to the Cabinet for discussion on Monday.

The 10 MPs from the Northern Irish party could prove crucial in supporting the Conservatives on key votes after Thursday's election saw Mrs May lose control of the Commons.

A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We can confirm that the Democratic Unionist Party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative Government on a confidence and supply basis when Parliament returns next week.

'We welcome this commitment, which can provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond.

'The details will be put forward for discussion and agreement at a Cabinet meeting on Monday.'

A 'confidence and supply' arrangement is a far looser deal than a formal coalition or pact.

It would mean Northern Ireland's DUP backing the Government on its Budget and prevent it being brought down by motions of no confidence, but could potentially lead to other issues being decided on a vote-by-vote basis.

Earlier today, it was revealed Mrs May had sent her chief whip Gavin Williamson to Belfast for coalition talks with the DUP after the election left the Tories eight seats short of the 326 required for a majority.

The Prime Minister made clear she wants support from her 'friends and allies' in the DUP to secure her minority administration ahead of the Queen's Speech on June 19.

The DUP is the leading unionist party in Northern Ireland and it is supposed to share power with republican Sinn Fein but bitter feuds have left the devolved assembly suspended.

Westminster is supposed to act as an honest broker between the parties under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

Sinn Fein was already suspicious of Tory neutrality because of the party's traditional closeness to the DUP and any form of coalition will chill relations further.

The deal will raise the prospect of a long-term collapse in Northern Ireland devolution. The current row was triggered by DUP leader Arlene Foster refusing to resign as First Minister over a green energy funding scandal. </s> Theresa May's future as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservatives was being openly questioned after her decision to hold a snap election disastrously backfired.

As the June 8 poll ended in a hung parliament, with no party holding an absolute majority in the House of Commons, Mrs May pledged to offer "stability" if the Tories end up as the largest party with the most votes.

Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto after choosing to go to the country three years early in the hope of extending her majority.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Former chancellor George Osborne, sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May and now editor of the Evening Standard, told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

The Democratic Unionist Party, which increased its representation at Westminster from eight to 10, signalled it was ready to discuss working with Tories on issues such as Brexit and keeping the UK together.

With the party in a position to hold the balance of power at Westminster, senior MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the DUP would be "serious players" in the hung parliament, telling the BBC:

"This is perfect territory for the DUP because obviously if the Conservatives are just short of an overall majority it puts us in a very strong negotiating position and certainly that is one we would take up with relish."

Three gains by Sinn Fein, which does not take up seats in Westminster, made it slightly easier for a combination of parties to achieve a working majority.

The pound plummeted as the shock figures set the scene for political turmoil at Westminster, disruption to upcoming Brexit negotiations and the possibility of a second election later in the year.

The night was marked by a collapse in Ukip support and a rash of high-profile losses for the SNP, as British politics returned to a two-party system on the greatest scale since the 1970s.

The Tories lost seven frontbenchers, with ministers Jane Ellison, Simon Kirby, Gavin Barwell, James Wharton, Nicola Blackwood and Rob Wilson going down to defeat, along with Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer, the author of the widely criticised Tory manifesto.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall faced humiliation in Boston & Skegness, where he came in a distant third, and the eurosceptic party lost its only Westminster seat in Clacton.

As Ukip voters switched to Labour and the Tories across the country, Mr Nuttall said Mrs May had put the Brexit process in "jeopardy" just 10 days before talks were due to begin in Brussels.

High-profile casualties of a night of shock defeats included Liberal Democrat former leader and ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in Sheffield Hallam, Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond in Banff & Buchan and the SNP's leader in Westminster Angus Robertson in Moray.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Education Secretary Justine Greening hung onto their seats by the skin of their teeth with much reduced majorities.

Accepting victory in Islington North, Mr Corbyn said voters had opted for hope and "turned their backs on the politics of austerity".

In an attack on Mrs May he said: "The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate.

"Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

"I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country."

Speaking as she was re-elected MP for Maidenhead, Mrs May said: "At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability.

"If, as the indications have shown and if this is correct, the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes, then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do."

Asked if Mrs May could remain as Tory leader, Ms Soubry told the BBC: "That is a matter for her. It is bad. She is in a very difficult place.

"She's a remarkable and very talented woman and she doesn't shy away from difficult decisions, but she now has to obviously consider her position."

Mrs May drove direct from the Maidenhead count to Conservative HQ in London, where she was hunkered down in talks with aides as dawn broke before moving on to 10 Downing Street.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said: "Theresa May's authority has been undermined by this election. She is a damaged Prime Minister whose reputation may never recover."

Mr Osborne said there would be "a very big post mortem coming"

Brexit Secretary David Davis said he would "fight tooth and nail" to keep Mrs May in post, and dismissed suggestions he might be a contender to replace her.

"The simple truth is we have a Prime Minister, she is a very good leader, I'm a big supporter of hers," Mr Davis told the Press Association.

"I'll fight tooth and nail to keep her in place."

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, often tipped as a potential successor to Mrs May as Tory leader, said: "We've got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns."

Liberal Democrats were celebrating the return of former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Sir Ed Davey and Jo Swinson two years after they lost their parliamentary seats.

And Tim Farron's party took Bath back from the Conservatives and regained Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross and Edinburgh West, which were lost to the SNP in 2015.

Mr Farron held on to his Westmorland & Lonsdale seat in Cumbria on a much-reduced majority, down from 8,949 in 2015 to just 777 now.

Labour took Canterbury, a seat which had been held by Conservatives since 1918, and claimed Tory scalps in a string of seats including Bristol North West, Stroud, Warwick & Leamington, Stockton South and Vale of Clwyd.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Labour "could form the next government" and would attempt to do so as a minority government if results allowed, rather than seeking to form a coalition with other progressive parties like the Lib Dems. </s> After the election, the right-wing UK Independence Party, which helped drive Brexit, was left with no seats in Parliament.

Theresa May is facing calls for her resignation after failing to win a majority.

Above all, investors are anxious about the general uncertainty surrounding the country – whether a bruised May will be able to govern effectively or whether she may eventually resign. At present it is thought to be as much as 69%, significantly higher than past elections and possibly as a result of the turbulent political events of the past few years. If she does ultimately go, then the Conservative government’s direction might shift under new leadership. May’s vision of Brexit calls for tariffs on European Union goods imported into Britain.

Answer: It’s an unusual situation in which no political party wins more than half of the 650 seats in the House of Commons – 326 is the ostensible mark for a majority, but since the seven Sinn Fein MPs in Northern Ireland aren’t expected to take up their seats in the London chamber, the threshold is more like 323.

Rather than resign, May quickly grabbed the lifeline of an alliance with the DUP, which won 10 seats. The overall Scotland results were SNP 35 of 59 seats (down 21), Conservatives 13 (up 12), Labour 7 (up 6) and Lib Dems 4 (up 3).

“Clearly if she’s got a worse result than two years ago and is nearly unable to form a government, then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative Party leader”, former Conservative Treasury chief George Osborne said on ITV.

Stock futures crept higher on Friday as investors tried to make sense of an uncertain future in the United Kingdom after Thursday’s election resulted in a likely hung Parliament.

European Union budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the European Union is prepared to stick to the timetable that calls for negotiations to start in mid-June, but said it would take a few hours at least to see how the results of the election play out in forming a government. “With a weak negotiating partner, there’s the danger that the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides…”

“I think it would be very, very hard indeed for her to stay on”, political analyst Carole Walker told CNN.

“Theresa May arrogantly gambled with our Brexit and blew it”, said a spokesman for the Leave.EU pro-Brexit campaign.

May’s failure to strengthen her grip on power is a huge embarrassment for the leader. Her refusal to participate in debates against her opponents drew criticism across the aisle from constituents and analysts alike.

In terms of households, the party said it wants to see continued rises in the national living wage and personal tax allowances and protection of pensions.

In the end, any coalition government May manages to pull together could be so weak that another national election is called – possibly even this year.

“The effect of this movement has been to counteract the clear evidence that the Conservative Party benefited most from the sharp decline in UKIP support from 13% to 2%”, he told the BBC. “Our leader needs to take stock as well”.

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party is claiming second place with 261 seats, a gain of 29. Written off by many pollsters, Labour surged in the final weeks of the campaign.

Although May hopes to remain Britain’s Prime Minister, her long-term position as leader could be in doubt. Speaking after being re-elected to his London seat, Corbyn said May should “go. and make way for a government that is truly representative of all the people of this country”.

But her campaign unravelled after a policy u-turn on care for the elderly, while Corbyn’s old-school socialist platform and more impassioned campaigning style won wider support than anyone had foreseen.

The broadcaster said Sturgeon was “disappointed at the SNP losses”.

It’s hard to see how any of the options above could survive a full term, and that means one thing: yet another general election, perhaps as soon as within the next 12 months.

May said that “of course I’ll reflect on what happened”. </s> Theresa May has been hung out to dry after her election gamble backfired — that is the consensus from this morning’s newspapers.

The Conservatives squandered their parliamentary majority at the 2017 snap general election, following a successful campaign by Jeremy Corbyn and Labour.

Britain is waking up to the news that there will be a hung parliament , with 646 out of 650 constituencies declared, the Tories had 315 seats, Labour 261, the SNP 35 and the Liberal Democrats 12.

The Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, which increased its representation at Westminster from eight to 10, signalled it was ready to discuss working with the Tories on issues such as Brexit.

Sources suggest Theresa May has indicated she will look to stay on as Prime Minister and Tory leader despite failing to win a majority after her decision to hold a snap election backfired spectacularly.

Here are the views of the newspapers this morning:

The latest edition of the Chronicle — a new edition is going to print at 9am — described the aftermath of the general election as ‘mayhem’:

The Journal questioned whether Theresa May’s gambled had backfired, something that looks increasingly likely as the results came in.

The front page is a rare beast in the newspaper world — asking a question in a headline to which the answer is probably ‘yes’:

The latest edition of the Mirror said Theresa May’s job is “on the line” as the UK headed for a hung parliament:

In their 4am edition, the Daily Mail - usually a cheerleader for Theresa May - calls her leadership into question, saying her decision to call an election backfired “disastrously”:

After savaging Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn with a number of hostile front pages, the Sun have led with “dismay” for Theresa May, saying Britain has been ‘plunged into political chaos’, adding that Mrs May’s election gamble was a ‘disaster’.

The Times describes the election as a ‘nightmare’ for Theresa May after squandering the huge lead she had in the polls:

The Financial Times says May’s gamble “appeared to have triggered another period of turmoil in British politics”, adding voters rejected her bid for a stronger mandate: </s> Theresa May's Conservative party lost its majority in the British Parliament, ceding big gains to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party, according to an exit poll Thursday night.

Conservatives remain the largest party in Parliament, but the British pound dropped sharply immediately after the poll results were released.

With no overall majority, the Conservatives would not be able to overrule the combined weight of other parties. That throws the Brexit situation into disarray and this is the state of sterling.

 

The pound has hit a low of 1.2704 against dollar lowest level since April 18th when the sterling traded as low as 1.2513 against the dollar.

The Conservatives would have 314 seats, Labour 266, Liberal Democrats 14, Scottish National Party 34 and other 22.

On April 18, May surprised onlookers by calling Thursday's snap election stating that "division risks the ability to make a success of Brexit."

At that the Conservative ruling government was polling as much as 22 points clear of the main opposition Labour party led by Jeremy Corbyn. However, as the campaign progressed the polls narrowed sharply.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. London time Thursday and closed at 10:00 p.m. The main flurry of results expected from 2.00 a.m. London time on Friday and there are 650 constituencies due to announce.

The Conservative campaign has attempted to focus on the withdrawal from the EU, repeating a mantra that only it can offer a "strong and stable" government as negotiations with Brussels heat up. This strategy has worked to an extent with polls on leadership consistently backing May over Corbyn as a more trusted leader.

Labour's Jeremy Corbyn has said he will honor Brexit but at the same time attempt to retain the benefits of the single market - a trading bloc for members of the European Union.
Results of yesterday's snap election are counted, revealing a hung parliament as the Conservative Party fails to retain its parliamentary majority, despite remaining the party with the most seats. Prime Minister Theresa May announced that she will form a minority government with the support of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party.