Theresa May's gamble of calling a snap election appears to have backfired, the broadcasters' exit poll suggests.

The Conservatives are projected to win 314 seats, according to the exit poll conducted on behalf of Sky News, BBC and ITV News, numbers which suggest they will be 12 seats short of a majority.

Labour is set for an improved showing compared with 2015, with Jeremy Corbyn's party predicted to win 266 seats, an increase of 34 on its performance two years ago.

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Image: Theresa May's gamble is projected to backfire

The exit poll team says there is a "serious risk" Mrs May will lose her overall majority - although this is "far from certain", given the exit poll has a margin of error of 20 seats.


A total of 326 seats are required for a Commons majority.

After the exit poll by Ipsos MORI/GfK was released, a Tory source told Sky News: "Let's wait and see. It's a projection. Long night ahead."

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Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire told Sky News it was too early to draw conclusions, but defended the Prime Minister's decision to call an election.

He said: "I think it was right because ultimately she was presented with a situation in the House of Commons, also the House of Lords, of people wanting to frustrate the whole Brexit process."

Labour's Emily Thornberry, meanwhile, told Sky News Mrs May should resign if the exit poll proves correct.

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Former chancellor George Osborne, who was sacked by Mrs May last year, said the result would be "completely catastrophic" for the Tories.

"It's difficult to see, if these numbers were right, how they would put together the coalition to remain in office," he said.

"But equally it's quite difficult looking at those numbers to see how Labour could put together a coalition, so it's on a real knife edge, and I think over the next few hours it's going to make a huge difference, just a few seats, because by my reckoning both parties have got coalitions which just fall short of an overall majority."

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In terms of the performance of the other parties, the Liberal Democrats are predicted to pick up a total of 14 seats, up six on 2015.

A senior party source has told Sky News there will be "no pacts, no deals, no coalition" with other parties.

Nicola Sturgeon's SNP is set for a downturn in fortunes, according to the exit poll, losing 22 seats to stand at 34.

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UKIP is forecast not to win a single seat, an outcome that would raise serious questions about Paul Nuttall's leadership.

The exit poll team said the projected "sharp" decline in SNP support means "it looks as though the only viable administration in the next parliament will be one that is provided by the Conservative party - though whether such an administration would last as long as five years is perhaps open to doubt".

They add: "Labour's anticipated tally of 266 seats would, if realised, doubtless come as a substantial relief to a party that feared a drubbing when the election was called.

"However, this could still mean that the party only has eight more seats than it won when it lost power in 2010, and would suggest that the party is still a long way away from securing power for itself."

The exit poll is a survey of people leaving a polling station, asking how they voted. The data is then used to forecast the outcome. A total of 30,450 people were interviewed as they exited 144 polling stations across the UK.