Election 2017 live updates: Theresa May claims Conservative government supported by DUP will provide 'certainty'
The Independent will be bringing you all the live updates as the UK's next government is formed
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Your support makes all the difference.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:
Theresa May was last at Buckingham Palace 11 months ago to ask permission to form another government.
A lot of people are wondering whether the Queen can say no, but the meeting is something of a formality, seeing the monarch officially delegate her powers as head of state.
Here's some reaction on the prospect of the DUP moving into a position of power in the Commons.
So, the meeting between Theresa May and the Queen is still underway. Afterwards, the Prime Minister is expected to give an update on the formation of a government outside Downing Street.
Also - has anyone seen Boris Johnson? Michael Gove? Philip Hammond? Keep us informed of any sightings...
Anyone heading on holiday today might want to delay getting currency for a bit...
Here's some more insight from business leaders, who have been talking to our business editor Josie Cox.
Josh Hardie, deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry told The Independent that the most important thing now is for politicians to “get their skates on” and “get the house in order.”
“We’ve got to put the economy at the front and centre of our thinking,” he said, adding that the UK has some “great opportunities in business” and that it’s now up to the Government to establish the framework in which those businesses can thrive.
“Business have been doing a great job since the referendum of hiring people and investing in the future of the country,” he said, “but we now have to make sure the Government continues to support that.”
On Brexit, he said that this does add a layer of uncertainty, so the main challenge is “getting around the negotiating table and moving forward”.
“Britain is in a right old pickle this morning,” says Chris Iggo, the chief investment officer of fixed income at AXA Investment Managers. He says that the problem is that the country “does not know what it wants”:
“It has rejected the most left-wing policy agenda since the 1970s and at the same time rejected (almost) a government that did not appear to have a clear plan for the next parliament given that the next parliament will be dominated by Brexit. It seems that Britain is schizophrenic. It appears to want Brexit but is not sure what Brexit is. It wants more money spent on the health service and education but doesn’t want to pay for it via an attack on enterprise or at the cost of fiscal meltdown. It seems that young Britain is at odds with mature Britain. Scottish Britain doesn’t want to be on its own. Urban Britain looks to want very different things to rural Britain. And in the end, there was not enough faith in either Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn to sway the results of the election decisively one way or the other.
“This morning, Britain is one big sovereign Confused.Com.”
Kensington, the last remaining constituency to announce its result, has reportedly gone Labour.
The result was suspended after several recounts in an extremely close vote, which could unseat the Conservatives in what was considered a safe seat. The result has not been officially announced.
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