Election 2017 live updates: Theresa May claims Conservative government supported by DUP will provide 'certainty'
The Independent will be bringing you all the live updates as the UK's next government is formed
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has said she will form a Conservative government backed by the DUP, claiming it can bring "certainty" to the UK.
After visiting the Queen, the Prime Minister claimed there was a "strong relationship" between the two parties, amid concern over the DUP's controversial anti-abortion and anti-LGBT policies.
The PM has also apologised to Conservatives who lost last night. She said: "I'm sorry for all those colleagues who lost their seats." She will "reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward" after the result, she added.
The UK voted for a hung parliament after shock losses for the Conservatives in the 2017 general election. With 649 of 650 seats declared, the Tories had 318 seats - eight short of the figure needed to win outright - with Labour on 261, the SNP on 35 and Liberal Democrats on 12.
Jeremy Corbyn's party increase its share of the vote by 9.6 per cent, while the Tories were up 5.5 per cent, the Liberal Democrats, Greens and SNP saw small loses and Ukip's vote collapsed.
The live blog has now ended
Politicians, voters, and even their pets have been heading to polling stations and are posing for the cameras at every opportunity.
The Prime Minister has made clear that she would rely on the support of the Democratic Unionist Party in order to get her programme through Parliament, despite concern over its stance on issues including equal marriage, abortion and climate change.
Making no allusion to losses suffered by the Conservatives, Ms May said she intended to press ahead with her plans for Brexit.
She faced calls from within her own party to consider her own position after the election, which she brought forward by three years in the hope it would deliver an increased majority in the Commons.
Jeremy Corbyn urged her to resign and allow him to form a minority administration, declaring: “We are ready to serve this country.”
But, after intensive talks with the DUP, the Prime Minister instead drove the short distance to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen for permission to form a new government.
The final election results came in late on Friday, after Kensington finally declared a Labour win — with a tiny 20-vote majority. They were:
Sir Craig Oliver, former director of communications at Downing Street for David Cameron, told Sky News: "If this is true, if this is accurate in CCHQ there will be deep and lasting shock.
"It was the biggest gamble a politician has taken for a long time and if that exit poll is right, it's failed."
Award-winning filmmaker Ken Loach, a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, added: "If this is true, it's an extraordinary result for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, starting so far back and written off."
He said it would be recognition of Mr Corbyn as a "man of principle" rather than Mrs May's "robot" persona.
Caroline Lucas said:
“This exit poll is remarkable. If true then the Conservative's look likely to pay the price for their reckless election gamble.
"Any Green MPs elected tonight will do all they can to keep the Tories from Number 10, and back a Labour-led Government on a case by case basis.
“In the coming hours we will see if the Greens’ leadership on progressive alliance has come to fruition, but early projections from seats such as Brighton Kemptown suggest that our actions have had a truly meaningful consequence. Whatever happens we’re proud that we have worked with others in a handful of seats for the best chance of beating the Tories.”
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