bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Bloomberg

Reuters

Agence France-Presse

British Prime Minister Theresa May was poised to win Britain’s snap election on Friday but lost her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty and casting doubt on who will govern as Brexit talks loom.
May’s Conservatives remained the largest party in Britain’s parliament but fell short of the 326 seats required to establish a majority.
The BBC predicted the Conservatives would secure 318 seats while the Labour Party would win 267. It means a coalition government is likely but it is unclear how such an alliance might be forged – or which parties will be involved.
However, May insisted she planned to remain in office, claiming Britain “needs a period of stability” as it prepares for the complicated process of withdrawing from the European Union.
Watch: Theresa May loses parliamentary majority in shock election


Britain’s significance to China would be ‘compromised’ by hung parliament, analysts say
“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 so that we can all, as one country, go forward together,” she said.
But May, a 60-year-old vicar’s daughter, is now facing questions over her judgment in calling the election three years early and risking her party’s slim but stable majority of 17.
“If it turns out as the exit polls are suggesting then Theresa May is going to have no parliamentary majority or a tiny one,” said Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics before the final results were confirmed. “It is exactly the opposite of why she held the election and she then has to go and negotiate Brexit in that weakened position.”
‘May’s credibility is shot’: British prime minister undermined by election
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labour party surged from 20 points behind, urged May to quit, saying she had “lost votes, lost support and lost confidence”.
“What’s happened is people have said they have had quite enough of austerity,” he said, adding it was time for a government that is “truly representative of all the people of this country.”
Ed Balls, a former Labour Treasury chief, said it would hurt May’s negotiating position with Europe.
“I don’t see how she can be a strong and credible figure now to lead these negotiations,” he said.

Early newspaper editions reflected the drama, with headlines such as “Britain on a knife edge”, “Mayhem” and “Hanging by a thread”.
In a night that threatened to redraw the political landscape once again, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which won 12.5 per cent of the vote two years ago and was a driving force behind the Brexit vote, risked being wiped out.
The pro-European Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned for a second EU referendum, were projected to increase their number of seats from nine, but their former leader Nick Clegg lost his seat.
It is exactly the opposite of why she held the election and she then has to go and negotiate Brexit in that weakened position
Tony Travers, London School of Economics
May, who took over after last year’s Brexit referendum, began the formal two-year process of leaving the EU on March 29, promising to take Britain out of the single market and cut immigration.
Seeking to capitalise on sky-high popularity ratings, she called the election a few weeks later, urging voters to give her a stronger mandate to go into Brexit talks that are expected to begin as early as June 19.
Officials in Brussels were hopeful the election would allow her to make compromises, but this has been thrown into question by the prospect of a hung parliament.
“It creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda currency traders.
Despite campaigning against Brexit, Labour has accepted the result but promised to avoid a “hard Brexit”, focusing on maintaining economic ties with the bloc.
Barely a month ago, the centre-left party seemed doomed to lose the election, plagued by internal divisions over its direction under veteran socialist Corbyn.
But May’s botched announcement of a reform in funding for elderly care, a strong grassroots campaign by Corbyn and the terror attacks, which increased scrutiny of her time as interior minister, changed the game.
How Jeremy Corbyn defied his critics, a hostile media and even his own party to deliver stunning election turnaround
Britain has been hit with three terror attacks since March, and campaigning was twice suspended.
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a pop concert in Manchester on May 22, killing 22 people.
Last Saturday, three assailants wearing fake suicide vests mowed down pedestrians and launched a stabbing rampage around London Bridge, killing eight people before being shot dead by police.
UK election: what you need to know
The attacks led to scrutiny over May’s time as interior minister from 2010 to 2016, particularly since it emerged that some of the attackers had been known to police and security services.
Labour seized on steep cuts in police numbers implemented as part of a Conservative austerity programme, although May insisted she had protected funding for counterterrorism.
Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse and Reuters


British election ends in hung parliament as Theresa May’s election gamble backfires

British Prime Minister Theresa May. Photo: EPA

epa06016417 British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives to vote in the British General election at a polling station in Islington, north London, Britain, 08 June 2017. British voters go to the polls to cast their ballot to elect a total of 650 Westminster Members of Parlament to form the next British Governement. EPA/ANDY RAIN

Possible scenarios for British politics after election ends in hung parliament

Hand puppets depicting British Prime Minister Theresa May and Britain’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Photo: AP

Theresa May, U.K. prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, speaks at a general-election campaign event in Norwich, U.K., on Wednesday. May said she'd be willing to tear up human-rights legislation to combat terrorism in a move the Labour opposition said was an attempt to distract from her cuts to police, as security dominated the closing stages of the U.K. election campaign. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Chris Ratcliffe

Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves a polling station after casting his vote in north London 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 / Daniel Leal-Olivas

News

World

Europe

May held opinion poll leads of 20 points and more when she called the snap election just seven weeks ago


.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Update | British election ends in hung parliament as Theresa May’s election gamble backfires

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}May held opinion poll leads of 20 points and more when she called the snap election just seven weeks ago

Update | British election ends in hung parliament as Theresa May’s election gamble backfires

May held opinion poll leads of 20 points and more when she called the snap election just seven weeks ago