Theresa May's early election gamble backfires - exit poll indicates hung parliament

"At this time this country needs a period of stability".

She said that while the full results had yet to emerge, her party seemed to have won the most seats and "it would be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability".

Mr Corbyn said Labour has won a "huge mandate" to challenge austerity.

May had promised a "hard Brexit" if Britain did not like the terms of the divorce negotiated with the EU. "That's what it was about, that's what we put in front of the British people, we'll see by tomorrow whether they've accepted that or not", he said.

That means that whoever is prime minister after this vote might argue support for such a poll is waning.

The more confusing the result, the less clear-cut her future.

Labour however expects to oust Ms May from No 10 and form a minority government themselves, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said.

"Regardless of the question of who will form a government in Britain, time is ticking".

It's safe to say when UK Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election in April, she wasn't envisioning this outcome. "This is a major disaster for her personal authority over the country and the Conservative Party, particularly because she made this election all about her "strong and stable" leadership", Jane Merrick wrote for CNN.

The campaign did not go to plan.

An opposition Labour Party that had been written off by many pollsters surged in the final weeks of a campaign that was marred by deadly attacks in Manchester and London. She sought to deflect pressure on Corbyn, arguing that he had a weak record on security matters, but that did not stop questions about her own ministerial decisions.

The much maligned Labour leader took a massive personal vote of 40,086 in his London constituency of Islington and in his victory speech he called on Theresa May to step down as Prime Minister. During his three decades on Labour's leftist fringe, Corbyn consistently opposed European integration and denounced the EU as a corporate, capitalist body. Regarding the imminent negotiations with the European Union, he said he wanted "a jobs first Brexit". There was no landslide one way or the other, but at least one government minister has lost her seat.

With 648 of the 650 seats declared, Labour now sits on just over 40 per cent of the vote, significantly higher than the 35.2 per cent the party managed in 2005.

The Scottish National Party lost 22 seats to knock the party down to 35 seats, according to the BBC.

The Liberal Democrats have repeatedly said they will not go into coalition.

In one of the biggest surprises of the night, former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to Labour's 25-year-old candidate Jared O'Mara.

Before May went through the largely symbolic process of seeking the queen's approval for the new government, DUP leader Arlene Foster had told British media that it would be "difficult for (May) to survive" and that "it is too soon to talk about what we're going to do". This being said, 322 MPs should provide the majority because the Speaker does not vote and Sinn Féin have so far declined to take up its seats.

Analysis suggested that Labour had benefited from a strong turnout among young voters.

The shock result, coming after a campaign that began with Conservative prime minister Theresa May expected to win a commanding majority, means United Kingdom politics is about to enter a period of uncertainty.

"I can only build that better country and get the right deal in Brussels with the support of the British people", she said.

In Scotland, the pro-independence SNP were in retreat despite winning most seats.

One reason May called an early election was to enlarge the Tory majority so that she had a buffer against the 60 or so Conservative lawmakers most passionate about Brexit and who remember she didn't vote for it.