Theresa May ahead but set to lose majority in United Kingdom election

Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap United Kingdom general election in the hope of strengthening her hand in negotiations to take Britain out of the European Union.

The Conservatives held 330 seats in the last Parliament, compared with 229 for Labour, 54 for the Scottish National Party and nine for the Liberal Democrats.

The ruling Conservative party needs 326 seats to win an overall majority and guarantee that Theresa May would continue as Britain's Prime Minister.

The former leader, Alex Salmond, lost his seat, as the Conservative Party made some rare gains in Scotland.

While her Conservatives will likely remain the largest party - and may even have a majority to govern - they are losing seats.

As she was resoundingly re-elected to her Maidenhead seat in southern England, May looked tense and did not spell out what she planned to do.

As results started to trickle in, Labour took the first two seats to declare, party strongholds Newcastle Central and Sunderland & Houghton South, increasing its share of the vote in each.

If confirmed, the result would lead to a period of political uncertainty and could throw Britain's negotiations to leave the European Union - due to start June 19 - into disarray. Ms May called the election expecting to win a landslide but the result will be a huge blow to her personal authority even if she scrapes a majority.

Rachel Sheard, who cast her vote near the site of the London Bridge attack, said the election certainly wasn't about Brexit.

A delay in forming a government could push back the start of Brexit talks, now scheduled for June 19, and reduce the time available for what are expected to be the most complex negotiations in post-World War Two European history.

The pound dropped as much as 1.9% before recovering some of those losses to trade at $1.2764 at 3.41am in London. "That's enough to go".

Other prominent departures from the House of Commons included former deputy prime minister and ex-Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who lost Sheffield Hallam to Labour after 12 years, and the Scottish National Party's Westminster leader Angus Robertson, whose Moray seat was taken by Tories.

A minority Conservative government could probably rely on the votes of the 10 or more MPs of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from Northern Ireland.

Britain's election is providing another night of political shock and surprise.

Meanwhile a buoyant Mr Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to step down, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Speaking on Sky news, Thornberry said: "I think she should go. That's what we have seen tonight".

‌Therefore, May's resignation is now nearly a certain case for the party members. He rode out the criticism, holding open-air rallies at which thousands - including many young people who had not voted before - cheered his message of ending austerity and abolishing college tuition fees.

May was criticized for making a number of U-turns on social welfare and she came under fire for a controversial proposal on who should pay for the cost of care for the elderly, a policy that became known as the "dementia tax". Opponents denounced her as "weak and wobbly".

Security dominated the late stages of the campaign, after the attacks in Manchester and London. Anna Soubry, a Conservative MP, said May would have to consider her position. "It's a terrible night".

"This election is a rejection of May and hard Brexit". Instead, the next British prime minister could potentially also rely on a flexible arrangement in which one party sets up a so-called 'confidence-and-supply'deal with several smaller parties, such as the SNP. The LibDems and SNP, who are both more anti-Brexit than Labour, would demand key concessions from Corbyn on European Union membership as conditions for power-sharing.