British Prime Minister Theresa May has spectacularly lost her electoral gamble, according to an exit poll that suggests her Conservatives will fall short of a majority in parliament, throwing her Brexit plans into disarray. Instead of increasing her parliamentary majority, Britain will now have a hung parliament (where no party has a majority in the 650-member chamber).
If the seats tally is really tight, it's possible that neither of the main parties, Conservatives or Labour, can form a coalition that has an overall majority.
In his last general election, Mr Blair won a majority with 355 seats, and although Mr Corbyn is now a long way behind on 261, his share of the popular vote is significantly higher.
"At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability", she said in Maidenhead, west of London, her voice at times shaking.
The second largest seat victor, according to the exit polls, will be the Labour Party, lead by socialist Jeremy Corbyn, with a predicted 266 seats.
Political deadlock in London could derail negotiations with the other 27 European Union countries ahead of Britain's exit from the bloc, due in March 2019, before they even begin in earnest. It may not be Davidson, but with May's time running out, talk of her replacement is growing louder in the party - even before the final results come in. "The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate and the mandate is that she has lost seats", he said.
The result also plunges Britain into a period of renewed political chaos, with Brexit talks likely to be delayed and May's personal authority shredded.
Labour took Canterbury, a seat which had been held by Conservatives since 1918.
"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.
Chelsea Manning talks leaks, transition after prison release
Army soldier, served time at the U.S Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . Manning entered federal custody as a male Army private named Bradley.
The BBC's political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, says Mrs May's decision may prove to have been one of the biggest political mistakes of modern times.
Now it has emerged an interview Mrs May gave last month could have been the catalyst for her "disastrous" campaign.
One of the biggest surprises of the night came when the constituency of Canterbury, which has been held by the Conservatives for more than a century, fell to Labour.
What a night. Theresa May, who became the longest serving Home Secretary in a century now looks to be the shortest serving Prime Minister in 300 years. A second election would then follow.
The Conservatives had won 311, the opposition Labour party were on 258 and the Scottish National Party were in third position with 34.
EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, tweeted early Friday that negotiations should start "when the United Kingdom is ready". As the leader of the largest single party in the House of Commons, May got the first chance to put together a government and present a formal program, known as the Queen's Speech. "Corbyn could make it, but whether the Labour party will allow him to stay in power afterwards is another thing altogether".
She called this election three years early thinking that she could strengthen her mandate before Brexit talks. There are now calls for her to resign as Prime Minister.
A minority Conservative government could probably rely on the votes of the 10 or more MPs of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from Northern Ireland.
Natural bedfellows in a Conservative-led coalition, perhaps, but with their staunch commitment to an open border with neighboring southern Ireland, they could yet prove a decisive and outsized force in Brexit negotiations - and by virtue, the success or failure of the Conservative Party's key manifesto pledge. A stronger majority would have given May more ability to resist "hardline pro-Brexit factions in her party", and would have let her offer better terms to the EU.
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