United Kingdom election ends in hung Parliament

The Conservatives could potentially turn for support to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a natural ally, projected to win 10 seats.

The prime minister is expected to see the Queen later today to confirm a deal is in place, according to reports.

Former Tory Chancellor George Osborne, who was sacked by Theresa May when she took office past year, has said if the poll is correct, it would be "completely catastrophic" for the party and the PM.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

If the exit polls are right, then this will be the dream result for unionist parties here as their MPs will be needed to prop up a Conservative government.

State of the parties at 05.20am.

As in the rest of the UK, Brexit was a key campaign issue.

"We are ready to do everything we can to put our programme into operation; there isn't a parliamentary majority for anybody at the present time, the party that has lost in this election is the Conservative Party, the arguments the Conservative Party put forward in this election have lost".

May said after the results were posted that she would not resign, although her Labour rival, Jeremy Corbyn, said she should step down, Reuters reported.

The DUP replaced the SDLP in South Belfast, wrested back South Antrim from the UUP and saw off the challenge of the Alliance Party and Sinn Fein in East and North Belfast respectively.

With the Brexit negotiations around the corner, it will strengthen Northern Ireland's place in the talks.

The night was marked by a collapse in Ukip support and a rash of high-profile losses for the SNP, as British politics returned to a two-party system on the greatest scale since the 1970s.

The Tories lost seven frontbenchers, with ministers Jane Ellison, Simon Kirby, Gavin Barwell, James Wharton, Nicola Blackwood and Rob Wilson going down to defeat, along with Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer, the author of the widely criticised Tory manifesto.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017.

As Ukip voters switched to Labour and the Tories across the country, Mr Nuttall said Mrs May had put the Brexit process in "jeopardy" just 10 days before talks were due to begin in Brussels.

"I find it very, very hard to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what he's previously said and indeed to persuade the membership of the Liberal Democrats that a coalition would be a good idea from our point of view", he said.

While Mrs May said her top ministers would remain in post, she hinted her two close aides, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill - blamed by many Tory MPs for the party's disastrous campaign - could face the chop.

"As more results started to come through, it became clear that we were the party that had won most seats and most votes and felt it was incumbent on us at a critical time in our the country to form a government in the national interest", she said.

Labour appears to have benefited from the collapse in support for the UK Independence Party (Ukip), whose leader Paul Nuttall has now resigned, picking up nearly as many votes from its former voters as the Conservatives.

Asked if Mrs May could remain as Tory leader, Ms Soubry told the BBC: "That is a matter for her".

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said: "Theresa May's authority has been undermined by this election". British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an e.

She said despite losing a dozen MPs in the June 8 poll, she meant to press ahead with her plans to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and forge a new trade deal with its former partners.

"The simple truth is we have a Prime Minister, she is a very good leader, I'm a big supporter of hers", Mr Davis told the Press Association.