Conservatives have lost their majority in the UK’s snap general election that has resulted in a hung parliament.
With just a handful of seats left to declare, June 8 poll shows gains for the opposition Labour Party.
This is seen as a humiliation for PM Theresa May, who chose to call the election to try to strengthen her hand in talks with the EU on Brexit.
Labour leader and Theresa May’s main rival, Jeremy Corbyn, urged her to resign, but she said her party would “ensure” stability in the UK.
She said on June 9: “At this time more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability.
“And if, as the indications have shown and if 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 we have that period of stability – and that is exactly what we will do.”
Theresa May – who had a small majority in the previous parliament – had called an early election to try to improve her negotiation positions on Brexit.
However, EU Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger told German radio he was unsure Brexit talks could start later this month as scheduled. He said discussions with a weak UK negotiating partner could lead to a poor outcome.
Jeremy Corbyn earlier said: “If there is a message from tonight’s results, it’s this: 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, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country,” he added.
Final election results are expected on June 9 at midday.
The biggest shock of the night so far has been Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg losing his seat to a Labour candidate. He was deputy prime minister of the UK from 2010 to 2015 in a coalition government with the Conservatives.
Former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond was also defeated, losing his seat to a Conservative.
A total of 650 Westminster lawmakers are being elected, with about 45.8 million people entitled to vote. A party needs 326 seats to have an overall majority.
