This could potentially delay Brexit negotiations with the EU. Two weeks earlier, a suicide bomber killed 22 people as they were leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. These are due to start on June 19 but now risk being delayed - narrowing the window of time available to clinch a deal before a March 2019 deadline.
Given the exit polls, and the fact that voting has just closed, it's likely to be some hours yet until a definitive result is known.
Sterling fell by more than two cents against the USA dollar after an exit poll showed May losing her majority, though it later recovered some of its losses.
May had called the election on April 18, urging voters to boost her 17-seat working majority in order to strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations.
May was widely derided for endlessly repeating her slogan of "strong and stable leadership" despite her u-turn on the care policy. At that point, polls predicted she would massively increase the slim majority she had inherited from predecessor David Cameron. Some critics nicknamed her "the Maybot".
"The inconclusive election result will be an unhelpful influence at a time when quarter-on-quarter GDP growth already has dropped this year to 0.2%, the slowest rate in the G7", said Samuel Tombs, chief United Kingdom economist, at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Farage warned that in the event that May can not form a government and Labour creates a coalition "then I think Brexit is in some trouble".
Some analysts say that might reflect the diminishing prospect of a "hard" Brexit.
The Scottish National Party, which called for a new independence vote after Brexit, was tipped to lose up to 20 of its 54 seats.
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At the time, the Conservatives were riding high in the polls, and it initially seemed like a smart move - until the opposition Labour party began to gain ground.
"If the poll is anything like accurate, this is completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and for Theresa May", said Osborne.
They only need eight more seats to win an overall majority - but they would need the Lib Dem's 14 extra seats to get it. However, it said that it would be able to produce a more accurate forecast when 10 percent of results were in, which will be around 0100 GMT.
Like Cameron, who called the European Union referendum in the mistaken confidence that he would win the vote to stay in the bloc, she now risks being remembered for hubris.
Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry said the Prime Minister "now has to obviously consider her position".
In 2010, Gordon Brown held onto the premiership for six days as frantic negotiations took place, resigning only when it became clear that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had reached agreement on a viable coalition. In 2015 they underestimated our result.
In the event of a hung parliament - where no party wins enough seats to have a majority in the House of Commons - the two major parties, Conservatives and Labour, will try and form a coalition government with one of the smaller parties.
"We need a strong leader", the official said on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of Brexit talks, adding that nonetheless the divorce process will have to happen in the step-to-step approach that the European Union wants.
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