May's gamble backfires as Britons deliver hung parliament

The probability of a clean divorce from the European Union, a so-called "hard Brexit", can play out in different ways.

Here's exactly why everyone's talking about the unexpected results today. The Scottish independence movement represented by the Scottish National Party (SNP), which many pro-independence Catalans see kinship with, lost a third of its seats, despite retaining the most seats in Scotland.

The U.K.is facing a hung Parliament and May has resisted calls to resign, after her Tories lost 12 seats and the rival Labour Party picked up 29, with one regional election still not final.

The Tories remain the biggest party with 318 seats and Labour has 262 - with 326 required for a majority.

In 2010, the Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, the first formal coalition since Winston Churchill's government during World War II.

Above all, investors are anxious about the general uncertainty surrounding the country - whether a bruised May will resign in due course, whether the Conservatives will be able to form a new government or whether it will be an alliance of opposition parties, led by the Labour Party.

European Union budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the European Union is prepared to stick to the timetable that calls for negotiations to start in mid-June, but said it would take a few hours at least to see how the results of the election play out in forming a government.

They couldn't possibly vote for Jeremy Corbyn, the quasi-Marxist, left-wing Labour Party leader who campaigned on high taxes for the rich, heavy spending and deep skepticism toward Britain's traditional defense and foreign policies.

First up we have the B-word (Brexit, duh) and with such a close result between those wanting to leave and remain in the referendum past year, it is arguable that some are voting in response to that. There's also the way the different parties want to approach Brexit to consider, with many unhappy with the "hard Brexit" approach of the Conservatives and possible preferring the "softer" approach wanted by Labour.

Then there's voter turnout. "She has fewer seats than she started with", Landale wrote.

After weeks of campaigning, rhetoric and crises the UK General Election of June 2017 is finally reaching a conclusion.

"Where UKIP was strongest in 2015 - and where consequently their vote fell most this time around - there was a small net swing to the Conservatives, whereas where UKIP were previously weakest there was a 7% swing to Labour".

As the results piled up, some form of minority or coalition government appeared increasingly likely. She said the country "needs stability" after the inconclusive election result. That is the largest increase in the share of the vote by a Labour leader since Clement Attlee in 1945. "A government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country".

May called the snap election saying that she needed a strong majority to put her in a powerful position over negotiating Britain's departure from the European Union, a process that is due to begin on 19 June.

She said that the poor showing meant that she would need to "reflect" on voters' appetite for a new referendum. Nearly every other party - including the DUP - have objected to May's plans for Brexit, so it may mean compromises the Conservatives were not expecting are going to have to be found to allow things to move forwards. But the British public are savvy enough to know when they're being taken for a ride. Sadly Elmo only got three votes while Lord Buckethead got a grand 249.

"The British political system is in total disarray".

- Most surprising MPs to lose seats include Nick Clegg (former Lib Dem leader), Nicola Blackwood (health minister and author of the Conservative party manifesto) and Alex Salmond (SNP and former Scottish First Minister).

With several seats still being counted, it appears the United Kingdom leader has lost at least double that number.