Labour ready to serve now Tories have lost election, says Corbyn

But before the deal-making can begin, there is the business of forming a government, and the likelihood is an alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party, which won 10 of Northern Ireland's 18 seats and does not want a hard Brexit. In most cases - to use a mathematical terms - the two are positively correlated which is a technical way of saying they both go up or down at the same time and certainly the immediate reaction to potentially no majority for the ruling Conservative government has been negative with the United Kingdom stock market expected to open down in Friday trading.

"We're ready to form a government....we are willing to serve the country", he told the BBC.

However, May could find it impossible to continue as Prime Minister. "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is nearly unable to form a government, then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative Party leader". "That's what people voted for last June, that's what we will deliver - now let's get to work".

The pound hit an eight-week low against the dollar and its lowest levels in seven months versus the euro before recovering slightly after May said she would form a government backed by her "friends" in the DUP. The Conservatives could be forced to compromise to win DUP backing. "We demand fresh leadership immediately".

That's because they generally earn their money overseas, so a weaker pound means profits earned overseas are worth more when converted back into sterling. UKIP saw a collapse in its support, shedding votes evenly to the two major parties instead of overwhelmingly to the Conservatives, as pundits had expected.

May called the vote to strengthen her position before Brexit negotiations, fully expecting to thrash a Labour leader she mocked as "weak, unstable and nonsensical".

May had hoped to head to the first formal Brexit talks in Brussels on June 19 or 20th with the firm backing of the people as well as the House of Commons.

Corbyn said the result means "politics has changed" and voters have rejected Conservative austerity.

But May could insist on staying on as leader: after all, she has shown herself to be utterly inflexible during her campaign.

"We're entering into a flawless storm of chaos and the uncertainty is set to unleash mayhem across global financial markets, at least in the short term, as they react to the growing question marks hanging over the British parliamentary landscape", said Green in an emailed statement. "Do your best to avoid a "no deal" as result of "no negotiations", Tusk wrote on Twitter. "I'm not sure that we should read, from the results of this vote, that Britons' sovereign decision on Brexit has been cast into doubt in any way".

May's predecessor David Cameron sought to silence eurosceptic fellow Conservatives by calling the referendum on European Union membership, expecting Britons to vote to remain.

Markets had priced in a Conservative victory with a healthy majority, giving Theresa May free rein to take charge of Brexit negotiations unhindered.

He said: "We saw that in the Brexit referendum previous year and we see it here again tonight, polarised between left and right, between different regions and nations and areas of the country, but most gravely of all, this huge gulf now between young and old". Other Conservatives have emphasized the importance of migration controls, something the European Union says is incompatible with open trade. However, even with all parties on board, it would still only be able to form a minority government, which would have even more difficulty than the Tories in putting together a legislative programme. "That would prevent another election, because I think people have had enough of elections".

Corbyn called for May to quit, saying, "The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate". But analysts say it is clear the PM made a serious miscalculation.