In what has been called a catastrophic General Election gamble for the Prime Minister, Mrs May saw her pre-election majority wiped out with Labour making gains in 29 seats.
Sterling fell almost two percent against the dollar on the back of the exit poll, as investors questioned who was now going to control the Brexit process. The pro-EU, centre-left Liberal Democrats were having a mixed night. "We demand fresh leadership immediately". Who has the mandate and ability to negotiate Brexit now?
Here are a few questions over what it means and its implications for the country.
But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, commenting after being re-elected in the London Islington North constituency, said it was time for May to go and make way for a government that would be "truly representative of the people of this country".
- If this does translate into a hung parliament when results come through, Theresa May as incumbent prime minister will have the first shot at trying to form a government - either as a minority or in coalition with others.
Her ability to drive Brexit reforms through parliament is sharply diminished.
And Tim Farron's party took Bath back from Conservatives. That would give May and the Conservatives a working majority.
May had promised a clean break, taking Britain out of the EU's unified trading area and reducing the number of people coming to the country from the EU.
"I hope the United Kingdom will soon have a stable government to start negotiations", Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's top Brexit official said.
"This election is a rejection of May and hard Brexit".
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May had called the snap election in hopes of garnering a strong mandate for the Brexit negotiations.
May had hoped the election would focus on Brexit, but that never happened, as both the Conservatives and Labour said they would respect voters' wishes and go through with the divorce.
Already, some banks have started moving jobs out of the United Kingdom and into other European countries because they fear they'll lose business after Brexit if they don't.
Former government minister Anna Soubry in an interview around 5 a.m. local time said May must consider her position following the results in the election.
That said, security was far from the only issue. That is why the European Union wants the talks to go smoothly.
May had spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britain's economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide "strong and stable leadership" to clinch a good deal for Britain.
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Labour "could form the next government" and would attempt to do so as a minority government if results allowed, rather than seeking to form a coalition with other progressive parties like the Lib Dems.
Neither party is able to form a government.
May, who took over after last year's Brexit referendum, began the formal two-year process of leaving the European Union on March 29, promising to take Britain out of the single market and cut immigration.
"Or the nurses with the pay freeze, the police officers that we all get desperately dewey eyed and sentimental about when they save us from terrorist atrocities but oddly the wax in our ears expands to fill all available space whenever they turn to us and complain about cuts or ask if perhaps they could be paid a decent wage for risking their lives on our behalf every day".
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