Election 2017 live updates: Theresa May claims Conservative government supported by DUP will provide 'certainty'

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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:

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 More #dogsatpollingstations

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 17:25

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 Some lighthearted polling facts from Professor Philip Cowey from Queen's Marys, University of London on Twitter:

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 17:31

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 The Cumbria News & Star is reporting a police investigation is underway after a Conservative campaign poster was spotted next to a sign pointing people to a polling station in Copeland. It is illegal to put up signs or campaign near polling stations as it could influence or intimidate people as they go to vote. Trudy Harrison, who won the historically Labour seat earlier this year,  said the poster had not been put up by either her or her campaign staff. It is on private property just metres from the entrance to the polling station.  

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 17:50

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No excuse not to vote, only four hours to go

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 17:54

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People across Britain buying every copy of The Sun and Daily Mail from local shops and binning themTory-backing newspapers are being bulk bought and burnt or binned in an apparent protest at their criticism of Jeremy Corbyn. The Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express were targeted on the day Britons head to the polls, with videos showing people hiding the newspapers behind cartons of milk in the supermarket or buying and setting fire to them. Photos posted on Twitter showed some had bought dozens of copies of the right-leaning papers.

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 18:03

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#puppiesatpollingstations

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 18:10

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9 out of 10 voters reject May's claim election is about Brexit and say it's about public servicesNine out of 10 people reject Theresa May’s idea of a “Brexit election” and insist that it should also be about public services, according to an exclusive poll for The Independent. ORB found that for only 15 per cent of people, choosing the best prime minister will be uppermost in their mind when they decide how to vote in the election.

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 18:27

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More posters in polling stations tonight, as Guido Fawkes reporter Ross Kempsell has said a row has broken out at a polling station in a North London primary school where children's posters which appear to endorse Labour have appeared in the windows.

 

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 18:35

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There are reports of problems with the register in Newcastle-under-Lyme. People are reporting that students and new voters are being turned away because officials are using an outdated version of the electoral register. 

The constituency is currently represented by Paul Farrelly of the Labour party who has a majority of just 650.

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 18:48

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Pound sterling near two-week high as UK voters take to the pollsThe pound traded near a two-week high against the dollar on Thursday, as voters took to the polls in the UK’s general election. Sterling was trading marginally lower against the dollar at around $1.2944 late in the day, not far off its $1.2970 peak hit on Wednesday, which was the currency’s highest level against the buck since 25 May.

Lizzie Dearden8 June 2017 18:58

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