Tories set to win most votes but hung parliament declared

Jeremy Corbyn calls for Theresa May ‘to go’

May says Tories will provide ‘period of stability’

Boris Johnson looms as successor to May as Tories leader

THERESA May’s snap election gamble has backfired. She’s vowed not to quit, as the British Pound takes a hit and experts suggest Brexit talks could be delayed.

After a long night of counting, the verdict was official — it was impossible for the Conservatives to achieve a majority, resulting in Britain having a hung parliament.

“It is definitely a hung parliament,” the BBC declared.

It was an outcome that exit polls had shockingly forecast several hours earlier.

The result is Mrs May’s worst nightmare. She has been met with calls for her to stand down amid the Tories’ election disaster, with Jeremy Corbyn saying “it’s enough for her to go”.

There are 18 seats still to be declared, but the Conservatives need to 20 seats to reach the majority benchmark.

Mrs May was holed up with her aides, her leadership under enormous pressure as the post-mortem begins on how the Tories got it so wrong.

The British Pound has now hit $1.269, down more than two and a half cents, as it loses ground against the US dollar. Mrs May will give a statement at 10am from 10 Downing Street (7pm AEST).

At the declaration of her consitutency Mrs May was asked by a reporter: “Are you going to resign” before it was announced she had retained her seat of Maidenhead.

But Mrs May insisted “the full picture had not emerged”.

BRITISH MAYHEM: What happens now

media_camera British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Conservative Party Headquaters with her husband Philip. Picture: Getty

“At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability,” she said.

“And if, as the indications have shown, and this is correct, that 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.

“So that we can all go forward as one country together. My resolve is what it has always been.”

With just 27 seats left to declare, turnout is running at 68.6% - the highest for a UK general election since 1997. #GE2017 — Ian Jones (@ian_a_jones) 9 June 2017

After being re-elected in Islington Labour Leader Mr Corbyn said: “The prime minister called the 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 is enough for her to go actually.

“Politics has changed. Politics isn’t going back into the box where it was before.

“What’s happened is, people have said they’ve had quite enough of austerity politics, they’ve had quite enough of cuts in public expenditure, under-funding our health service, under-funding our schools, our education service, and not giving our young people the chance they deserve in our society.”

RELATED: British election’s colourful candidates from Lord Buckethead to a guy in an Elmo suit

media_camera Television crews set up outside 10 Downing street in central London. Picture: AFP

BY THE NUMBERS

Below is a running total for how many seats each party holds.

PARTY SEATS SO FAR:

Conservative 312

Labour

259

Lib Dems 12

SNP 34

Greens 1

UKIP 0

Other 22

Unreported 10

media_camera Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn gestures as he arrives for the declaration at his constituency in London. Picture: AP

STERLING SHAKEN BY SHOCK RESULT

Sterling is sagging in Asia as British elections left no single party with a clear claim to power, sideswiping investors who had already weathered major risk events in the US and Europe.

The shock outcome saw the pound shed as much as three US cents at one point, or close to 2 per cent, on fears the political turmoil could delay, and complicate, Brexit talks, which are due to start in 10 days.

Yields on 10-year gilts fell 3 basis points to 1.00 per cent, but FTSE futures recouped early losses and turned 0.3 per cent higher, perhaps on hopes that a weaker pound would help the economy.

Pound is now 1.9% lower as #GE2017 results in a hung parliament https://t.co/kTpgh8T7m3 pic.twitter.com/qJEWnnSpQw — Bloomberg (@business) June 9, 2017

The damage was limited elsewhere, with E-mini futures for the S&P 500 edging up 0.1 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei added 0.4 per cent and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.2 per cent.

“This is messy for the UK economy and its Brexit negotiations and hence is a negative for the pound and share market,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP.

“But the UK is just 2.5 per cent of world GDP and it’s hard to see significant implications for global investment markets.”

Dean Turner, economist at UBS Wealth Management, predicts that the pound will be very volatile as investors come to terms with a hung parliament.

“Markets were not primed for the prospect of uncertainty today. The dramatic change to the political and economic status quo will be unsettling to investors,” he said.

media_camera Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Conservative party headquarters in London. Picture: AP

TALK OF BREXIT DELAY

European Union leaders fear Prime Minister Theresa May’s shock loss of her majority in the snap British election will delay Brexit talks, and raise the risk of negotiations failing.

Guenther Oettinger, the German member of the European Commission, said it was unclear negotiations could be launched on June 19, as planned. The talks, which the EU wants to ensure a legally smooth British departure in March 2019, would be more uncertain without a strong negotiating partner, he added.

Another EU official in Brussels said it was too early to speculate on how the bloc would react to a change in Britain’s demands for its withdrawal.

“Let’s see if the next government changes its position on Brexit,” the official said, as results confirmed May could no longer command a majority in parliament.

media_camera UK front pages: The Daily Mirror. media_camera UK front pages: Daily Express.

Former Finnish premier Alexander Stubb tweeted: “Looks like we might need a time-out in the Brexit negotiations. Time for everyone to regroup.”

Investment bank JP Morgan says that Britain will be forced to seek a delay in its Brexit negotiations. Talks due to begin on June 19, but as things stand there’s no certainty that Britain will have a stable government in place. Malcolm Barr, economist at JPMorgan, says: “Perhaps the most obvious conclusion is that the likelihood of the UK needing to request a delay in the Brexit process has risen substantially, given the chance that political developments in the UK disturb what is already a time-compressed process.”

media_camera UK front pages: The Daily Star. media_camera UK front pages: The Daily Mail.

A ‘DREADFUL’ CAMPAIGN

Exit polls, released as the ballot boxes closed at 10pm UK time, showed Theresa May’s Conservatives would win 314 seats — down from the 330 they currently hold, and the 331 won by David Cameron in 2015.

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour would win 266 seats, up from their current 229, a very strong result of a 37-seat gain.

This result, if replicated in the counting, would make the Conservatives the largest party in the House of Commons, but they would fall short of the 326 seats required for a majority.

The exit polls, taken for Sky News, the BBC and ITV News by Ipsos MORI, flummoxed commentators, and indicated the counting may go throughout the night with a closer result than forecast in the opinion polls in the final days of the campaign.

Exit polls are usually reliable but were off the mark in 2015 and during the Brexit referendum in July last year.

The Conservatives’ 330 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons give them a 17-seat working majority.

A BBC forecast about five hours into counting, gave a slightly better picture for the Tories.

It still predicted a hung parliament, with the Conservatives winning 318 seats, a loss of 13 seats.

it suggested Labour would win 267 seats, an increase of 35 seats.

According to the BBC, the SNP would win 32 seats, a loss of 24 seats, the Liberal Democrats would win 11, up three seats while the UKIP would lose their seat.

We are getting a lot of calls so just to be clear: No Coalition. No deals. — Lib Dem Press Office (@LibDemPress) June 8, 2017

Mrs May called the snap election on April 18, ostensibly to clear out obstructions ahead of the start of formal Brexit negotiations, which begin in 12 days’ time.

At the time the Tories were leading Labour by 20 points.

However, the Government has since frittered away that double-digit lead, with fumbles over the cost of social care for elderly residents.

Mrs May also refused to front a debate with Mr Corbyn, and appeared wooden and distant on the campaign trial.

Poms hit the polls: The UK election in pictures media_camera Sophie Allison, riding her horse Splash, rides out of the driveway of a private residence, set up as a Polling Station, near Reading, west of London, on June 8, 2017, as Britain holds a general election. Britain went to the polls on Thursday in a snap election to choose who will lead the country out of the European Union, after a campaign overshadowed by terror attacks. / AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNIS 1 of 24 media_camera Toby, a beagle cross waits for his master outside a polling station on the Glen road on June 8, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Voting in the general election is underway with Northern Ireland candidates contesting 18 seats. Counting will take place through the night at seven count centres in the province with the first results expected at around 1am. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) 2 of 24 media_camera President of the Friends of West Blatchington Windmill Peter Hill prepares to open a Polling Station at the Windmill near Brighton, in southern England on June 8, 2017, as Britain holds a general election. As polling stations across Britain open on Thursday, opinion polls show the outcome of the general election could be a lot tighter than had been predicted when Prime Minister Theresa May announced the vote six weeks ago. / AFP PHOTO / GLYN KIRK 3 of 24 media_camera A man walks past the polling station set up at a community centre in south London on on June 8, 2017, as Britain holds a general election. As polling stations across Britain open on Thursday, opinion polls show the outcome of the general election could be a lot tighter than had been predicted when Prime Minister Theresa May announced the vote six weeks ago. / AFP PHOTO / Justin TALLIS 4 of 24 nav_small_close Want to see more?( 20 more photos in collection )Continue to full gallery nav_small_left nav_small_right

The final opinion polls on Wednesday had the Government ahead by seven points.

Last month Ms May told of her fears if the Conservatives lost just a few seats.

Regardless of the results the Liberal Democrats have ruled out forming a Coalition as they controversially agreed to in 2010.

Conservative MP Anna Soubry, who won her seat of Broxtowe by a slim majority, slammed Ms May describing her campaign as “dreadful”.

Ms Soubry pointed to social care and the scrapping of free school lunches as issues damaging to the Tories.

When asked whether Ms May should resign, Ms Soubry replied: “It is bad. It is a matter for her ... She is in a very difficult place.

“She’s a remarkable and very talented woman and she doesn’t shy from difficult decisions. But she now has to, obviously, consider her position.

“Theresa did put her mark on this campaign. She takes responsibility, as she always does and I know she will, for the running of the campaign. It was a tightly-knit group.

“And it was her group that ran this campaign.”

media_camera British Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates, including Lord Buckethead, for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead. Picture: AFP

‘COMPLETELY CATASTROPHIC’ FOR CONSERVATIVES

Sky News reported Conservative sources as casting doubt on the results of the exit poll.

But one of Britain’s leading political figures said the polls, if accurate, would make it very difficult for a new government to be formed.

Former Treasury chief George Osborne, who now edits the Evening Standard newspaper, told ITV: “It is early days, it’s a poll, if the poll is anything like accurate this is completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and for Theresa May,” he said.

media_camera Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. Picture: AFP

“It’s difficult to see if these numbers were right how they would put together the coalition to remain in office, but equally it’s quite difficult to see how Labour would put together a coalition.

“It’s on a real knife-edge.”

Osborne, a prominent Conservative stalwart, did not seek re-election to Parliament, choosing instead to focus on journalism.

Former Labour home and foreign secretary Jack Straw said if the results were correct it was to the “great personal credit” of Mr Corbyn.

Mr Straw praised the “great vigor and consistency” of the Labour campaign.

He slammed Ms May as a “weak and wobbly leader” and claimed the election had been a “disaster” for her.

MORE: An Aussie’s five-minute guide to the UK election

media_camera Former Labour home and foreign secretary Jack Straw. Picture: AFP

The Labour Party welcomed the results of the exit poll.

A statement released by the Party and attributed to a spokesperson read: “If this poll turns out to be anywhere near accurate, it would be an extraordinary result.

“Labour would have come from a long way back to dash the hopes of a Tory landslide.

“There’s never been such a turnaround in a course of a campaign. It looks like the Tories have been punished for taking the British people for granted.

media_camera The Sun front page, Friday, June 8, 2017.

SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY HIT HARD

Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon says the results of the election are disappointing for her party but were disastrous for Prime Minister May.

“Clearly it’s a disappointing result, we’ve lost some tremendous MPs,” Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday.

“This is a disaster for Theresa May, she called an election clearly very arrogantly thinking that she was going to crush the opposition, sweep everybody aside and cruise to a landside majority, her position is very, very difficult.”

Sturgeon she would think about her demands for a second Scottish independence referendum after her party lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, which all want to preserve the United Kingdom.

“There is clearly uncertainty around Brexit and independence which clearly will be factor in tonight’s results — you know a lot of thinking for the SNP to do,” she said.

It was estimated the SNP would win 32 seats, a loss of 24 seats.

Their high profile casualties included deputy leader Angus Robertson.

media_camera Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, arrives as votes are counted for the general election, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. Picture: AP

UKIP VOTE COLLAPSES

Ukip has suffered a collapse in its vote, with many people who backed the Eurosceptic party in 2015 switching to the Tories or Labour.

Early results saw the party’s vote down by around 13 per cent on 2015, when under Nigel Farage it secured a 12.6 per cent share of the national vote. Pressure will increase on Ukip leader Paul Nuttall if the party’s vote share does not improve as further results come in, particularly if he fails in his second attempt this year to secure a Commons seat.

Mr Nuttall, who is standing in Boston and Skegness, failed to enter Parliament in the Stoke Central by-election in February.

Former party leader Mr Farage insisted that Ukip could benefit if - as an exit poll predicted - the country faces a hung parliament.

media_camera UKIP leader Paul Nuttall. Picture: AFP

He told LBC Radio: “If the result of this tonight is that we finish up without a government with a clear majority pushing for Brexit, then a huge gap opens in the political landscape for Ukip once again.”

But he said officials in Brussels “will have looked at the exit polls and be cheering very loudly because right now, if we believe the exit polls, Brexit is under a bit of threat”.

If the exit poll is true then Theresa May has put Brexit in jeopardy. I said at the start this election was wrong. Hubris. — Paul Nuttall (@paulnuttallukip) June 8, 2017

I think Theresa May has won own goal of the season. — Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) June 8, 2017

VOTERS TURNED AWAY

Hundreds of voters were reportedly been turned away from polling stations in marginal seats due to administrative errors.

The Independent reports that Paul Farrelly, the Labour candidate for Newcastle-under-Lyme, said he planned to refer the council to the Electoral Commission over the “shambles”, which he said had prevented at least 50 people from voting.

“Each passing hour is not only spoiling election day, but just adding to the issues for complaint, which I will be referring tomorrow to the Electoral Commission and other bodies for an independent, outside investigation,” he said.

100s of newly-registered voters turned away in marginal Newcastle u. L. See below for advice! #Vote2017 @e_horsfall pic.twitter.com/EycdQGgGok — Keele History (@KeeleHistory) June 8, 2017

By 11am they'd turned away 20+ voters! Reckoned to be in the 100s now! This is not good! — Andrew Niblett (@andnib) June 8, 2017

The Independent has heard from student voters who were turned away from a polling station near Keele University despite having registered to vote online.

TRAFALGAR SQUARE EVACUATED

Trafalgar Square in London was evacuated by police over reports of a suspicious item.

There was a heavy police presence at the famous tourism mecca with the area cordoned off from the public for about an hour.

The nearby Charing Cross station was also reportedly evacuated.

Transport For London has tweeted: “Charing Cross Road as closed northbound between Trafalgar Square and Cranbourn St due to a police incident.”

It has since reopened after police checked things out.

Just been asked to leave Trafalgar Square by police. Could be nothing but suggest avoiding the area. — Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) June 8, 2017

It comes after the barbaric terror attack in London on Saturday night, when three men mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge and went on a stabbing frenzy at Borough Market.

They killed eight people, including two Australians.

Trafalgar Square is in lockdown right now #TrafalgarSquare pic.twitter.com/siTrn9JxJe — Ben Solanky (@Bsolanky) June 8, 2017

Ms May and Mr Corbyn traded last-minute blows over Brexit ahead of voting, but the real heat remained in the terrorism debate, with Labour and Liberal Democrats both refusing to accept Mrs May’s assertion that human rights laws should be torn up if they stood in the way of deporting or detaining suspected terrorists.

Labour suffered an 11th-hour blow when Mr Corbyn asked his accident-prone shadow home secretary Diane Abbott to temporarily stand aside after she fumbled a series of media interviews including one on terrorism policy.

media_camera A Benedictine nun from Tyburn Convent leaves after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London. Picture: AP

media_camera A voter’s dog is tied to the railings outside the polling station at Garsington Village Hall in Garsington, Oxford. Picture: AFP

Mr Corbyn said Ms Abbott had fallen ill and would be replaced by Lyn Brown — an MP who had previously quit his frontbench in a rebellion against his leadership — for the final hours of the campaign.

While Ms Abbott tweeted that she was still standing for a seat and would “rejoin the fray soon’’ the move allowed the Government to paint Labour as indecisive and disorganised in the fight against terrorism.

The leaders spent the last day of the eight-week campaign crisscrossing the country in a final bid to motivate voters and boost electoral turnout.

media_camera SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon exits after casting her vote. Picture: Getty