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:
Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative MP for Totnes, is taking aim at Theresa May's advisers as blame swirls in the Conservative Party.
Concern is mounting over the affect the Democratic Unionist Party could have on the Conservative government as it bolsters its numbers in key votes.
The DUP has blocked the introduction of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. It has maintained the ban on abortion, continuing its criminalisation and forcing women to undergo dangerous procedures or travel elsewhere.
Tim Farron is speaking after a mixed night for the Lib Dems, who saw a modest gain of four seats after their electoral hammering in 2015.
He hailed his predecessor Nick Clegg as a "giant of British politics" and a "friend and a hero" after he lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to Labour.
Mr Farron said his role as Deputy Prime Minister in coalition with David Cameron's Conservatives led to key policies including the raising of the income tax threshold and equal marriage.
"History will be kind to Nick and the new parliament will be poorer without the experience, insight and passion he brings, especially to the Brexit debate," he added.
Mr Farron also said goodbye to Liberal Democrat MPs Greg Muholland, Mark Williams and Sarah Olney, who narrowly lost the Richmond seat recently gained in a tight by-election to Conservative Zac Goldsmith.
The Liberal Democrat leader is backing calls for Theresa May to resign, confirming that his party will not support the Tories, adding: "No deal is better than a bad deal."
Mr Farron accused the Prime Minister of putting "the future of our country at risk for sheer arrogance and vanity", causing her to form her own "coalition of chaos".
Mr Farron, who ran on the key policy of holding a second EU referendum, said the election showed that British people rejected Ms May's "vision for Brexit".
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the SNP and Scottish First Minister, is now speaking after a turbulent night for her party.
Her predecessor Alex Salmond lost his seat, as did SNP Commons spokesman Angus Robertson.
Ms Sturgeon said: "The Conservatives have lost their majority and the Prime Minister has lost all authority and credibility.
"In Scotland the SNP won this election, we have more seats than all of the other parties combined."
Ms Sturgeon said a "dominant two-party system" had returned in England, but not in Scotland.
"We will reflect on these results, we will listen to voters, and we will consider very carefully the best way forward for Scotland," she added.
The First Minister said the "Tories have caused chaos on an industrial scale" by calling the EU referendum, a leadership election and then a snap general election, heading into Brexit negotiations "without a plan".
"They were so arrogant that they thought they could do anything and simply get away with it...because they have consistently put the interests of the Tory party ahead of the interests of the country."
Theresa May has now left Downing Street on her way to Buckingham Palace, with her husband Philip.
"IS THIS STRONG AND STABLE, PRIME MINISTER?" calls out the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg. No response.
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