Toggle Search
Toggle Menu
Toggle Menu
  1. Home/
  2. World News/

UK will have a ‘hung parliament.’ Conservatives short of a majority, Corbyn asks May to resign – UPDATE

PM Theresa May’s Conservatives are on their way to be the largest party in the UK parliament, after the June 8 election, but the party fell short of an overall majority. As the results are coming in, Jeremy Corbyn demands Theresa May to resign, while the PM says “the country needs a period of stability.”

In a parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament is an expression used to describe a state of a parliament when no single political party (or bloc of allied parties) has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament (legislature).

UPDATE: U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called the results of the British election – which left Prime Minister Theresa May struggling to hold on to power – “surprising.”

loading...

Trump, who was answering a shouted question from a reporter during an Oval Office photo opportunity, did not expand on his comment.

UPDATE: A record 200 women – a third of lawmakers – and over 40 openly gay, lesbian or bisexual parliamentarians won seats in Britain’s election, but charities warned on Friday of slow progress and called for political parties to be more inclusive.

The party with the most female lawmakers is the opposition Labour party with nearly half of its elected members of parliament (MPs) women, while the smaller Green Party’s only elected MP is a woman.

However the announcement on Friday that Prime Minister Theresa May would form a new government with support from Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), after her Conservative party fell short of a parliamentary majority, raised concerns from LGBT and women’s rights campaigners.

The DUP, one of the most socially conservative parties in Europe, has fought to maintain tight restrictions on abortion and opposes gay marriage.

UPDATE: British Prime Minister Theresa May has made no change to her top ministers including finance minister Philip Hammond and foreign secretary Boris Johnson, her office said on Friday, a day after a national election.

Interior minister Amber Rudd, defence secretary Michael Fallon and Brexit minister David Davis will also remain in their posts, Downing Street said, after the Conservative Party’s weak performance in Thursday’s national election.

loading...

“No further appointments will be made this evening,” May’s office said.

Before the election there had been widespread speculation in the British media that May would replace Hammond if she won a large majority

UPDATE: British Prime Minister Theresa May will keep Philip Hammond in his job as finance minister, broadcaster BBC said on Friday as May assembled a ministerial team a day after she failed to win a parliamentary majority in an election.

The BBC also said Boris Johnson would stay as Britain’s foreign minister, Amber Rudd would continue as interior minister while the Sun newspaper said David Davis would remain in charge of the government’s Brexit department.

Defence secretary Michael Fallon is also expected to keep his job, the Sun reported.

The BBC and the Sun did not cite any sources for their reports

UPDATE: British Prime Minister Theresa May said the Conservatives were the only party able to form a government capable of delivering Brexit after an election that failed to deliver an outright majority.

“What I think is important in the Brexit negotiations … is we have the certainty of a government who can take forward a plan into those Brexit negotiations.

“As we’re the party that won the most seats and most votes we are the only party in a position to form a government.”

UPDATE: DUP leader Arlene Foster said her party obtained the best result ever and that the election had been “truly historic”. Foster says the union will be at the forefront of the party’s mind as it proceeds in the days ahead and that she discussed with the Prime Minister Theresa May but they did not reach a commitment, yet.

The DUP – which defends Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom and takes a conservative approach to social issues – increased its number of seats to 10 in Thursday’s election.

Britain’s Conservatives need to talk to other political parties and find a way to deliver an “open” Brexit, Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said after the party failed to win a majority in a national election.

UPDATE: European Council President Donald Tusk congratulated May on her reappointment on Friday as British prime minister and urged her to start talks as soon as possible on Britain’s exit from the EU to minimise disruption.

Labour is reported to have taken Kensington the last seat to declare, after several recounts. It means the final tally has Conservatives on 318 seats and Labour with 262 seats.

UPDATE: The European Parliament’s chief Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, has called the general election results an “own goal” for Prime Minister Theresa May.

UPDATE: Tim Farron said Brexit talks were “about to get very real” and warned that the “consequences will be felt by every single person in the United Kingdom.

UPDATE: Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday she would form a new government to provide certainty and lead Britain in talks with the European Union to secure a successful Brexit deal.

On the doorstep of her official Downing Street residence, May said she could rely in parliament on the support of her “friends” in Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party after her governing Conservatives failed to win a majority.

“We will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular,” she said.

“Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom.”

Theresa May also stated she would “put fairness and opportunity at the heart of everything we do” The Conservative leader promised: “Over the next five years, build a country in which no one and no community is left behind. A country in which prosperity and opportunity are shared right across this UK.”

UPDATE: After spending 15 minutes with the Queen, Theresa May gave a statement at Downing Street. Theresa May says her government will “provide certainty” and work to keep the country “safe and secure”.

UPDATE: Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon pledges to work with others to keep the Tories out of government. “We will work with others if it is at all possible to keep the Tories out of government,” said Sturgeon.

In her statement, the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, said there will be a delay regarding plans for a second independence referendum.

“Undoubtedly the issue of an independence referendum was a factor in this election result, but I think there were other factors in this election result as well,” she said.

She also said: “The prime minister has lost all authority and credibility.”

UPDATE: Jeremy Corbyn thanked his voters on a clip posted on his Twitter account.

UPDATE: Theresa May is expected to go to Buckingham Palace to seek permission from the Queen to form the Government, according to the Downing Street spokesman.

UPDATE:  German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Friday he hoped Britain would soon form a government to carry out Brexit negotiations after British Prime Minister Theresa May lost her majority in a snap election.

“I can only hope that a government is formed quickly with which we can negotiate seriously and that, if possible, we keep Britain as close as possible to the EU,” Gabriel said as he met his Qatari counterpart in the German town of Wolfenbuettel.

UPDATE: West London seat has suspended its count as a third recount is needed.

UPDATE: British Prime Minister Theresa May does not plan to resign after losing her parliamentary majority in a snap election she had called in pursuit of a stronger mandate for Brexit talks, according to BBC.

UPDATE: The European Council president Donald Tusk tweeted that Britain should do its best in the negotiations to avoid a “no deal”. Tusk warned that London faces a firm deadline to complete talks and that delays in starting them raise the risk of failing to reach a deal.

UPDATE: Rating agency Moody’s will assess the implication of Britain’s election, which failed to provide a clear winner on Friday, casting the country’s approach to Brexit and the future path of its economic policy into doubt.

UPDATE: The European Union’s stance on Brexit and the timetable for the talks are clear, the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said, adding the divorce negotiations should only start when Britain is ready.

UPDATE:  Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party are considering supporting Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives in parliament after she failed to win a majority in a national election, Sky News reported.

UPDATE: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says his party is  “ready to serve this country”. Corbyn said the Brexit negotiations must go ahead.

“Our position is very clear, we want a jobs-first Brexit, therefore the most important thing is the trade deal with Europe,” he added.

Corbyn said Labour had won the election on a “strong and hopeful” programme. and the party was ready to lead a minority government.

UPDATE: British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives are in talks with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party after failing to win a majority in Thursday’s national election, Sky News reported on Friday, citing sources.

With 646 out of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 315 seats and are therefore no longer able to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. The DUP won 10 seats.

UPDATE: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has arrived at his party’s HQ in central London.

UPDATE: Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said Britain should form a new government quickly, as months have already been lost in its divorce talks with the European Union.

UPDATE: There is no time to lose in negotiating Britain’s departure from the European Union, Germany’s deputy foreign minister said after the General Election in the UK. “Regardless of the question of who will form a government in Britain, time is ticking… We have less than two years to negotiate the exit … so we should not waste any time now,” said Michael Roth.

UPDATE: Theresa May is expected to speak at 10:00 London time after failing to win a majority.

UPDATE: Nigel Farage says May puts Brexit in jeopardy.

In a tweet on Friday morning, Nigel Farage said David Davis is now making Brexit concessions.

UPDATE: The European Union’s budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger said he was unsure if Britain’s negotiations about leaving the bloc could begin on time after Thursday’s U.K. parliamentary election failed to elect a clear winner.

UPDATE: British luxury carmaker Aston Martin called on politicians to quickly provide rapid reassurances to business so they can continue to invest after a snap election gave no political party an overall majority in parliament.

UPDATE: Former Labour leader Ed Miliband said, on Friday morning, Theresa May’s authority has been destroyed. In a tweet, Miliband said ‘Theresa May can’t now negotiate Brexit for Britain because she told us losing majority would destroy her authority.’

UPDATE: With only 17 more seats left to declare, the Conservative party is unable to get the the 326 seats needed for a majority.

UPDATE: Britain may need to ask for delay to Brexit process, JPMorgan said on Friday, according to Reuters.

With no clear winner emerging from the parliamentary election, a wounded May signalled she would fight on, despite being on course to lose her majority in the House of Commons.

“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,” said Malcolm Barr, economist at JPMorgan, in a research note.

UPDATE: According to Press Association numbers, on the basis of 540 results that are in, the Conservatives won 248 seats (11,009,108 total votes, 41.59%), while the Labour Party won 228 seats (10,719,321 total votes, 40,50%).

According to a BBC national seat predictions, the Conservatives are set to win 318 seats (-13) while the Labour party is set to win 267 seats (+35).

UPDATE: Theresa May says the Conservative party is set to win the most seats and votes, promising a period of stability.

“We have yet to see the full picture emerging. Votes are still being counted. But 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 would be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do,” Theresa May said on Friday morning.

The British PM added that whatever the results are, the Conservative party will ensure that it fulfils its duty in ensuring the stability of the country.

“The PM called the election because she wanted a mandate. 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, actually, and make way for a Government that would be truly representative of all the people of this country,” Jeremy Corbyn said in response to forecasts showing a win for the Conservatives.

UPDATE: Here are the questions the British are asking after polls closed.

UPDATE: Sunderland Central called for Labour.

UPDATE: Sky’s Jason Farrell reports on Twitter that armed police arrived outside Corby’s house.

UPDATE: Labour leaders skeptical about exit-poll results.

UPDATE: Former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said on Thursday he could not see any circumstance in which his party would prop up a minority Conservative government in Britain.

An exit poll earlier suggested Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May could fall short of winning a majority in Thursday’s election.

Asked by ITV if there was any circumstance in which the Lib Dems could prop up the Conservatives, Clegg said: “No.”

The Lib Dems had nine seats in British parliament until Thursday’s election. The exit poll projected they would win 14 seats this time.

UPDATE: Nomura model based on first results predicts Conservatives to win 331 seats and Labour 250.

UPDATE: UKIP leader says May put Brexit in danger by calling the snap election.

UPDATE: Sunderland second to call winner: Labour’s Bridget Phillipson

UPDATE: Jeffrey Donaldson of Northern Ireland’s DUP says prospect of British hung parliament “perfect territory” for DUP. He also said he would negotiate with Conservatives as they have a lot of common ground.

UPDATE: Labour wins in Newcastle Central, first seat to be called. Chi Onwurah has been re-elected with 64.89% and a turnout of 66.75%.

Results also show a swing from Conservatives to Labour.

UPDATE: Newspaper headlines not an easy read for Theresa May, day after election.

UPDATE: Greens to back Labour while Sinn Fein says “no”.

UPDATE: John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, told BBC that if exit-polls are correct, Theresa May should consider resigning.

UPDATE: SNP down by 22 seats according to polling data.

UPDATE: Financial analysts worried about a hung or unstable parliament.

UPDATE: The BBC said the election result in 76 seats was too close to call, after the exit poll predicted that Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives would lose their overall majority but remain the biggest party, with 314 seats.

“The race in a large number of seats is so tight that the result is currently too close to call,” the BBC said on its website.

“There are 76 seats that our predictions show as being too close to call.”

uk general election 2017
Photo: Facebook

UPDATE: A minority Labour-led government, or the “coalition of chaos”, as Theresa May used to call it, could rely on Plaid Cymru (3), the one Green MP and the SDLP, according to Guardian.

UPDATE: Britain’s Liberal Democrat party would find it very difficult to join a coalition again after suffering severe damage from its deal with the Conservatives after the 2010 election, former leader Menzies Campbell said on Thursday.

“(Party leader) Tim Farron made it very clear. He said no pact, no deal, no coalition. We’ve had our fingers burnt by coalition, I don’t need to tell you that. I find it very, very difficult to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what he previously said,” Campbell told the BBC.

Exit polls suggest the Liberal Democrats will increase their number of seats in Britain’s 650-member parliament to 14. The results of the exit poll show that Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party looks short of an outright majority.

UPDATE: Former British finance minister George Osborne said the exit poll forecasting that Prime Minister Theresa May will lose her majority in parliament would be “completely catastrophic” for her and the Conservative Party.

“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,” Osborne told ITV News.

“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 looking at those numbers to see how Labour could put together a coalition so it’s on a real knife edge.

The exit poll has predicted that May will win 314 seats, below the 326 needed to secure a majority.

UPDATE: Sterling suffers shock following the exit poll.

UPDATE: Prime Minister Theresa May will win 314 seats in Britain’s election, short of a majority in the 650-seat parliament, according to an exit poll released shortly after voting ended.

UPDATE: Conservatives to win 314 seats according to first exit-polls. Labour to get 266, SNP: 34, Lib Dems: 14, Plaid Cymru: 3, Greens: 1, Ukip: 0, and Others: 138

UPDATE: Polls have closed in Britain’s snap parliamentary elections.

UPDATE: Piers Morgan not afraid to stand by his prediction minuted before first exit-polls. 

UPDATE: Reporters say that Tories at HQ are less optimistic than those in the country.

UPDATE: One hour before polls are closing in the 2017 election.

UPDATE: The proportion of women standing as candidates in the general election was the highest on record, according to the Telegraph. In all 29 per cent of candidates, just over one in three, were women, a total 965 female candidates.

The General Election saw 3,384 candidates from dozens of parties contesting a total of 650 seats, the fewest number of candidates since at least the 2005 election, according to the Electoral Commission.

UPDATE:  According to social media reports students from Keele University are being turned away at polling stations. The university says that this could be due to late registrations and asks students to talk with presiding officer.

UPDATE: People are queuing to vote and share the pictures on social media.

UPDATE: A newspaper in west Cumbria says Copeland Conservatives are under investigation after a poster of their candidate was found near a polling station. 

UPDATE: The Conservative party headquarters in Maidenhead appears to have been vandalised with graffiti. This is PM Theresa May’s constituency.

 

UPDATE: Some of the biggest polling station queues have been reported at universities. There have been long queues of students voting at the University of East Anglia – in Norwich South, a seat won in 2015 by Labour’s Clive Lewis.

UPDATE: Prime Minister Theresa May has also posted a message on her Twitter account promising “a stronger economy and a brighter future for Britain”.

UPDATE: Labour candidate has posted a new message on Twitter asking for the support of the voters.

UPDATE: Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wooted voted in Rhondda in Wales.

UPDATE: The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has voted for the candidate of his party, Jeremy Corbyn.

UPDATE: Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson votes in Edinburgh alongside her dog Mister Wilson.

UPDATE: General Election by the numbers.

46.9 million: The number of people eligible to vote on polling day

1.1 million: The number who have joined the electorate since 2016

3,304: The number of candidates standing across all parties

974: The number of female candidates standing in the General Election

326: The number of seats needed for a working majority

17: The government’s majority at the end of the 2015-17 parliament

97: The number of seats Labour needs to gain to win a majority

650: The number of constituencies across the UK

UPDATE: Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley is not standing for election, but he has cast his vote in Streatham. Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party has voted in Brighton with her husband and son.

UPDATE: LibDem leader Tim Farron has braved the rain in Cumbria to cast his vote in Kendal.

UPDATE:  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has cast his vote at a school in Holloway, north London. Corbyn told the press gathered outside: “Thank you very much, all of you, for coming here today. It’s a day of our democracy. I’ve just voted. I’m very proud of our campaign. Thank you very much.”

UPDATE: Prime Minister arrived with husband Philip to vote at Sonning guide and scout hut on the outskirts of Maidenhead.

theresa may voting general election
Photo: YouTube

UPDATE: Scotland’s Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon voted in Glasgow, this morning.

UPDATE: The pound has hit a two-week high against the dollar, jumping to 1.2971. Sterling has also hit 1.1523 against the euro. Britain’s currency is now at its best price against the dollar in two weeks.

UPDATE: Millions of people are set to cast their vote in the 2017 General Election today with the polling stations opening at 7 am. The Brits will have until 10 pm to cast their vote.

UK police have “robust” plans for election security

Although three terrorist attacks took place in Manchester and London, the elections were not delayed.

Britain will vote in a national election on Thursday, just days after militants killed eight people and injured nearly 50 in an attack on London Bridge on Saturday night, the third assault in Britain in less than three months.

Britain’s government and local authorities are working closely with the police to guarantee security around the national election, and robust plans have been in place for weeks, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokeswoman said on Monday.

“There are plans in place for the general election. Police have been working closely with local authorities for several weeks on this. Those plans were developed with the threat level being at ‘severe’ so they are pretty robust,” the spokeswoman told reporters.

“Police review security for all events but we have been working very closely with them and local authorities for some time.”

The ruling Conservative Party hopes to increase its small majority in the House of Commons so it can dictate the forthcoming Brexit agenda without relying on support from other parties and pass easier legislation. An election will give Theresa May a mandate of her own – based on her manifesto.

What is a snap election?

Under  the2011, Fixed-term Parliaments Act, passed when David Cameron was prime minister, general elections in the UK are supposed to take place every five years on the first Thursday in May.

However, a snap election can be called in one of these two cases: if there is a vote of no confidence in the government or if MPs vote for an early election by a two-thirds majority.
The vote will take place on June 8, which means that the Parliament will be dissolved on 3 May, 25 working days before the election, and what is called the “short campaign” will take place.

In order to vote, British citizens must register at gov.uk/register-to-vote. The process requires answering 11 questions including name, address, national insurance number and whether you want a postal vote. The deadline to register to vote is midnight on 22 May.

To qualify to register to vote you must be a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen resident in the UK, or an EU citizen resident in the UK.

What each party promise at the General Election?

The tree main national political parties have all published their manifestos for the 2017 general election on 8 June.

The Conservative Party published their manifesto on May 18 with Theresa May promising a mainstream government that will deliver for mainstream Britain. The Prime Minister said that she election is dominated by Brexit and her party will seek a new „deep and special partnership with the EU”.

Theresa May wants a clear mandate from the voters to take Britain out of the single market and customs union, end free movement and the replace EU laws and regulations with British ones.

The Conservatives also promised control immigration and plan to secure the rights of EU nationals in the UK and those of Britons in the EU.

The Conservatives promised to increase NHS spending by a minimum of £8bn in real terms over the next five years.

The Labour Party launched their manifesto on May 16 and leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to raise the income tax rate for earnings of over 80,000 and 123,000.

The Labour party want to start fresh negotiations on Brexit with a strong emphasis on retaining the single market and customs union. Jeremy’s Corbyn party also pledged to guarantee existing rights for EU nationals living in Britain and UK citizens living in the EU.

Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he will look to fight this campaign on domestic issues – railing against austerity, the crisis in the NHS and low wages.

Labour pledged to scrap NHS pay cap and commit to over £30bn in extra funding, Moreover, one million people are to be taken of NHS waiting list by guaranteeing access to treatment within 18 weeks.

The Liberal Democrats’ manifesto was published on May 17 and their leader Tim Farron promised a second EU referendum.

Liberal Democrats want to hold a second referendum after they reach a deal with Brussels, with an option that the UK stays in the EU.  The also pledged to negotiate membership of the single market and customs union.

The Lib Dems will be the only major party calling for Britain to stay in the single market, linking it to millions of jobs, and for an open migration policy.

The Democrats promise a 1% increase on income tax to raise £ 6bn per year to be spent only on the NHS and social care services.

The Green Party launched their “green guarantee” manifesto on May 22.  Their program calls for a  “confident and caring Britain” and is centred on proposals including a universal basic income, opposition to a hard Brexit and an appeal to young voters. The Green Party also plans to pilot a universal basic income – a subsistence minimum income received by all – and to phase in a four-day week, with a maximum of 35 hours in work.

Plaid Cymru promised a strong voice for Wales in the Brexit negotiation in their manifesto. The party calls for Wales to maintain free trading links with the rest of Europe after departure from the EU, and for guarantees over the £680m of annual funding a year from EU sources.

UKIP launched their manifesto on May 25. Ukip has pledged to introduce a “one in, one out” immigration system and to ban the wearing of the burka in public places. Paul Nuttall also said the party will ban all EU flags from being flown from public buildings in the UK post-Brexit.

According to the last poll, Prime Minister Theresa May’s lead over the opposition Labour Party ahead of Thursday’s national election has narrowed to just 1 percentage point. The poll was conducted on Friday and Saturday, before an attack in London by Islamist militants that killed seven people and injured 48.

Alexa Stewart

Loading...

Advertisement