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Hello and welcome to the Daily Globe’s own semi-live reporting on the UK 2017 General Election. We are attempting to provide up-to-date information to the election and the estimated results. The polls have closed and the counting has begun.
13:45: May returns from Buckingham Palace and begins to organise a minority government with her “friends in the DUP”.
11:20: When Plaid Cymru and the Greens are included to the ‘Progressive Alliance”, they total 313 seats; less than the Conservatives’ 318 and the necessary 326 to form a majority. It would make little sense to create such a “grand coalition” but still be a minority government.
11:10: Sarah Wollaston lays the blame for the setback on Theresa May’s leadership style, as Paul Nuttall resigns as UKIP leader. It is worth remembering that this was not a defeat for the Conservatives, but more of a “Dunkirk Moment” to commemorate the end of the evacuation – a cohesive and organised withdrawal that keep the essential fighting element of the Parliamentary Party intact. Jeremy Corbyn, for all his seats won over the Conservatives (net gain of 20), is still 57 seats behind the Conservatives, and even if the SNP & Lib Dems are counted in – 35 and 12 respectively – are still 10 seats behind the Tories. This is definitely a Tory win: the probability of a Labour minority government or Lib-Lab-SNP coalition is notably small; just not a definite tory win.
10:15: Early reports suggest Theresa May will be off to Buckingham Palace to request permission to form a minority government. It is also expected that the DUP will lend support for supply bills to prevent a Labour minority, or Labour led coalition, government. With Sinn Fein winning seats, a Tory-DUP voting bloc would have a majority of 9 in the House.
09:40: Welcome back and good morning. With 647 of 650 seats counted, the UK has a Hung Parliament with a Tory lead as seen in the picture below, courtesy of the BBC. The main loser in the election were the SNP, who lost 21 of their seats, mainly to the Tories, but also to Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
Theresa May is ignoring calls to resign. The Tories took 7 seats from Labour, but lost 27 to Corbyn’s party. Zac Goldsmith wins back Richmond Park with a majority of 45.
03:35: The Conservatives lose Eastbourne to the Lib Dems, who hold leader Farron’s seat safe from Conservative attempts to win it. The Conservatives hold Boston & Skegness, leaving UKIP with no MPs, a fate share by the SDLP. Amber Rudd’s constituency of Hastings & Rye has a recount. I wonder if it looks like the Dunkirk Evacuation at Number 10 at the moment?
03:20: The Unionists continue to recover ground lost to the SNP: Labour takes Kirkcaldy from the SNP, and the Lib Dems take Bath off the Tories.
03:16: Jeremy Corbyn Reelected, and a Conservative victory over Labour in Dagenham & Rainhead. This is offset by losses in Ipswich (Cabinet Office Minister) and High Peaks.
03:05: LBC reports that May will step down if she looses the majority. Vince Cable wins Twickenham back from the Conservatives. Labour take Glasgow N.E. from the SNP and the Tories take Clacton. Nigel Dodds, head of the DUP – the largest Unionist Party in Ulster states “This is turning into a great night for the Union”. To make it better, reports suggest that Alex Salmond may loose his seat also
02:48: Nick Clegg looses in Sheffield Hallam to the Labour Party: The top brass continue falling.
02:45: Liberal Democrats take East Dunbartonshire from the SNP, avenging their loss in 2015.
02:41: Hard to keep up with the results: Conservatives take Southport from the Liberal Democrats and East Renfewshire from the SNP.
02:40: West Perth and Perthshire having another recount as Labour take Midlothian from the SNP and Tim Farron and the Tories neck to neck.
02:35: While Paul Goodman at Conservative Home calls for a Purge of May’s staff at No.10, the Scottish Conservatives, once more rare than Pandas, may be offering May a lifeline majority. Mhairi Black of the SNP say they may be in coalition with the Labour Party and they would remain the largest Scottish party.
02:30: The Lib Dems take East Dunbartonshire from the SNP. Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh in Ochil and Perthshire South has been declared vanquished by the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
02:25 Alex Salmond’s seat is also under threat from the Conservatives, who have lost Bury North to Labour. According to Cameron’s director of communications, it is “increasingly difficult” for May to “survive the day”.
Updated BBC projections are shown in the graph below. The Tories need 4 more seats to get a majority. It seems, however, that Amber Rudd will loose her seat in Hastings.
02:20: The moment we’ve been waiting for: Reports suggest that the Conservatives have unseated Angus Robertson in Moray and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh in Ochil and Perthshire South.
02:16: Nigel Farage blames the Conservatives for making a “huge error” in selecting “insincere and robotic” May for PM. He suggests he may re-enter politics if Brexit gets “into trouble” with Jeremy Corbyn as PM.
02:07: The Lib Dems lose Leeds N.W. to Labour. Labour steadily holding seats and winning some SNP and Tory ones. The Conservatives need to win in Scotland to remain in majority. Tory Front bench is not expecting to do better than exit poll, as bookies prefer Jeremy Corbyn for PM and lining up lists of ministers to replace May.
02:00: The Decapitation strike begins: Jane Ellison, Financial Secretary to the Treasury looses her Battersea seat to Labour.
02:00: Turnout higher than expected, possibly the highest since 1997. This is leading to a weakening of the Conservatives in London, where reports suggest as many as 10% could be shifting to Labour, due to May’s Brexit position. Sky News reports that the SNP may face an ever bigger defeat than expected. Rumours of two more Tory losses: Battersea & Stockton South.
01:55: The Sun warns of “Mayhem” with the risk of a Lib-Lab-SNP alliance holding the majority of the seats.
01:50: The C & U Party strikes back; slated to be taking Angus from the SNP. This is the SNP’s second defeat tonight and their first to the Tories, “with a 16.2% swing to the Tories”. According to Sky news the Conservative’s top target Perth & South Perthshire is having a recount. The difference is a mere 36 votes.
01:48: “Hard & Heavy Tidings” for the Conservatives as a Tory MPs loses his seats to the Labour Party. Education Secretary Justine Greening barely holds her Putney seat. Tom Watson has already begun a victory speech, quoting May: “‘if we lose just six seats we will lose our majority and Jeremy Corbyn will be PM.’ Results are still coming in but we’re going to hold her to that.”
01:35: Zac Goldsmith, who had been MP for Richmond Park, believes he can win again, which would be a needed gain for the Conservatives in the London area. The pattern of holds continues, with gains going to Labour. Osbourne reports that some of his friends who are MPs for southern towns are getting concerned.
01:30: Jeremy Corbyn seems to have survived the election, and even his enemies within the party are beginning to congratulate him on this election. The same cannot be said for Nick Clegg and Conservative MP Anna Soubry, both of whom appear to have lost their seats to Labour. The Labour swing in Rutherglen and Hamilton West was underestimated by 1.5% of the electorate, with analysts beginning to back the YouGov Exit poll.
01:22: The Unionists Strike Back. Reports suggest that the Conservatives have won West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine from the SNP. Labour parries a 10,000 SNP lead to create a Labour Marginal with 265 in Rutherglen and Hamilton West. Reports also suggest the Conservatives are doing poorly in London and there is increasing Frontbench support for Boris over May and her team.
01:10: According to Buzzfeed, a Tory MP reports that Boris Johnson is “already on manoeuvres” to replace May. Despite this, the Conservatives have been doing better than the exit poll initially claimed, somewhat mirroring the Brexit referendum.
01:05: No seats have changed hands yet – to the chagrin and relief of many Conservatives and Lib Dems. Currently the tally stands at 10 Labour and 5 Tory seats. Reportedly the Tories failed to take Darlington and Ealing, which benefits the Labour Party. The YouGov poll seems to be fairly accurate to date, but estimated a +5 Labour swing in N.E. England, where in Middlesbrough it was +1 for the Conservatives. Nothing decided yet. Also of note, Labour seems “increasingly confident” they can take Clegg’s seat, as the election seems to be a party “decapitation” strike by the number of leaders’ & ministers’ seats at risk.
00:43: According to former Chancellor George Osbourne, May will remain as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party if she can win a majority, but warns she will face a “huge post-mortem”. While he is definitely an Anti-Mayite, there are many “Cambourne-ites” still in the Party which will try to undermine her leadership, regardless of how the election turns out. Labour has held 8 seats to date, and the Conservatives have held all 5 of theirs.
00:32: Labour’s expected swing does not seem to be as large as expected in the polls, although all seats held to date. They do look strong, however, against the SNP’s Mhairi Black in Paisley & Renfrewshire South. Three Conservative Ministers’ seats are under pressure, including the Home Secretary’s.
00:05: The SNP is forecasted to loose 22 seats – 40% of their total in the polls denounced by most parties. The Conservatives will win the most, expected to take 7 seats. The Lib Dems are expected to win 5 and Labour 2. As Labour is forecasted to loose their only current seat, it seems there will be as many Labourites in Scotland as Pandas. The seats of both Angus Robertson and Alex Salmond are under threat from the Conservative Party. If Theresa May wanted to bring the nation together, the poll suggests she may well have: the big difference in number of Conservative voters in the Home Countries seems to be diminishing.
00:01: Good morning, Labour have retained a fourth seat, while the Conservatives hold Swindon North. Reportedly in the Home Secretary Amber Rudd’s Constituency, the Tories are concerned Labour may well win, or at the least undermine their majority significantly. The Lib Dems are concerned about loosing their deposit. This has become a frequent statement among Liberal Democrats and UKIP members this election, as the election has come down to two people: May & Corbyn.
23:52: Labour hold their third seat in Sunderland Central. Reportedly the poll may not have included postal votes, which are likely to skew the results towards the Tories.
23:50: “Panda-ing” to the Tories… Early reports suggest that the Conservatives may win all three southern Scottish borders, as well as Labour’s last seat in Scotland following their wipeout in the 2015 elections. Of greater interest still for Scottish Unionists, it seems that Alex Salmond’s seat in Gorton may also go Blue.
23:30: Despite the numerous previous polls suggesting the Conservative and Unionist Party winning a number of seats and a landslide, the major exit poll suggests the Tories will be the largest party, but would form a minority government: they would have achieved a plurality, but not a majority.
The target is to take 326 seats. As of 23:37, Labour has held two of their own seats. The Conservative party looks – if the poll is correct – to win 11 seats, of which 6 are in Scotland – a boost to the party. Reportedly, if the prediction is correct, the Conservative Party is already looking for potential new leaders. Boris Johnson, Philip Hammond, Sajid Javid and Micheal Gove are the frontrunners according to the Daily Telegraph’s chief political correspondent Christopher Hope.
