What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Some of Theresa May's key campaign catchphrases have come back to haunt her after a snap election failure.

The Prime Minister gambled on an election when her poll ratings suggested a landslide win, saying: "Let us remove the risk of uncertainty and instability."

From promising "strong and stable leadership" to avoiding a " coalition of chaos ", her messages of stoney resilience reassured thousands.

But as the electorate delivered a hung parliament, Labour seized on another of her favourite phrases from the campaign trail - "If I lose just six seats I will lose this election" - which was intended as a warning to wavering voters but was repeated with glee by Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters in the wake of the shock election result.

(Image: Adam Gerrard/Daily Mirror) (Image: Getty Images Europe)

The key catchphrases Theresa May may live to regret

April 18 - Downing Street

Mrs May said an early election was the "only way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead" and vowed to "continue to give the country the strong and stable leadership it demands".

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson used his acceptance speech after being returned to the Commons to mock Mrs May: "She said she was 'strong and stable'. The public saw that she was weak and wobbly."

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

April 19 - Election speech

Barely a day went by without Mrs May and her ministers warning that a vote for anyone other than the Tories would result in a "coalition of chaos", with Mr Corbyn propped up by the SNP , the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.

Now, having gambled away her majority, Mrs May will be forced to rely on the votes of other parties - probably the DUP - in order to govern.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

May 20 - Twitter and Facebook

Mrs May said: "If I lose just six seats I will lose this election, and Jeremy Corbyn will be sitting down to negotiate with the presidents, prime ministers and chancellors of Europe." Mr Watson said "We are going to hold her to that", while Labour supporters reposted her original message on Twitter.

A campaign message from Mrs May's predecessor, David Cameron , was also being widely shared on social media.

The message posted on the eve of the 2015 election said: "Britain faces a simple and inescapable choice - stability and strong government with me, or chaos with Ed Miliband."

A little over 12 months after posting the message, the UK was heading for Brexit and Mr Cameron had quit.

(Image: PA)

(Image: REUTERS)

The Tories fell short of an overall majority in the House of Commons today after the Labour Party gained dozens of seats.

There are now question marks over the Brexit negotiations due to begin in just over a week and May's future hangs in the balance.

Government ministers Ben Gummer, Jane Ellison, Simon Kirby and Gavin Barwell were among the Tories axed by voters, while Home Secretary Amber Rudd held on to her seat by just a few hundred votes.

Elsewhere Nick Clegg and former SNP leader Alex Salmond both lost their seats.

(Image: REUTERS)

May spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britain's economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide "strong and stable leadership" to clinch a good deal for Britain.

But her campaign unravelled after a major 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.

In the late stages of the campaign, Britain was hit by two Islamist militant attacks in less than two weeks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London, temporarily shifting the focus onto security issues.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

That did not help May, who in her previous role as interior minister for six years had overseen cuts in the number of police officers.

She sought to deflect pressure on Corbyn, arguing that he had a weak record on security matters, but that did not stop questions about her own ministerial decisions.

With the smaller parties more closely aligned with Labour than with the Conservatives, the prospect of Corbyn becoming prime minister no longer seems fanciful.

That would make the course of Brexit even harder to predict.

During his three decades on Labour's leftist fringe, Corbyn consistently opposed European integration and denounced the EU as a corporate, capitalist body.

As party leader, Corbyn unenthusiastically campaigned for Britain to remain in the bloc, but has said that Labour would deliver Brexit if in power, albeit with very different priorities from those stated by May.

"What tonight is about is the rejection of Theresa May's version of extreme Brexit," said Keir Starmer, Labour's policy chief on Brexit, saying his party wanted to retain the benefits of the European single market and customs union.