Prime Minister Theresa May’s snap election gamble has backfired, squandering her slim Tory majority. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on May to step down, but the PM says she has 'no intention of resigning.' and has struck a deal with the DUP.
09 June 2017
The last result of the general election has finally been confirmed and it's a win for Labour, although only by a mere 20 votes.
The west London constituency of Kensington, which has been represented by a Conservative since it was created in 1997, will now have Labour's Emma Dent Coad as its MP, attracting 16,333 votes. Her main opponent, Conservative candidate Victoria Borwick, garnered 16,313.
Counting in the constituency had been suspended after a number of recounts saw counters working through the night and too exhausted to continue.
This means the Conservatives have a total of 318 seats and Labour 263.
US President Donald Trump had only a one word response when asked what he thought of the election results Friday, saying they were "surprising." He did not expand further.
As Theresa May begins to form her new government, the Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that a number of key ministers in her cabinet will not be changing. The Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond as well as Foreign Affairs Secretary Boris Johnson will be staying put.
Amber Rudd will remain in her position in Internal Affairs, while David Davis will continue with his Brexit brief and David Davis in Defence.
"No further appointments will be made this evening," May's office said, according to Reuters.
A senior Downing Street source suggested the cabinet reshuffling will unlikely involve the “top team”, Sky reporter Robert Nisbet said.
Theresa May has said she is sorry for fellow Tory candidates who lost their seats in the general election that saw the Tories fall short of winning a majority in the Commons.
She has also refused to rule out the reshuffling may affect her "top team" of advisers, according to Sky News.
Prime Minister not to reshuffle her cabinet till tomorrow, according to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.
Sinn Fein’s Garry Adams said the election result was very favourable to republicanism as it resulted in the party gaining seven seats.
"There's an understandable focus on all the short term things that may be happening at the moment," he said, according to Sky News.
"We all need sleep, including a lot of you folks as well (referring to journalists).
"But there's a need for calm reflection of how we chart our way forward."
Home Secretary Amber Rudd is to retain her post, according to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.
Prime Minister Theresa May might fall short of forming a minority government if senior Tory MPs say they don't have confidence in her leadership, according to Sky Europe correspondent Mark Stone.
Sky correspondent Robert Nisbet has said May is viewed by some as “damaged goods”, undermining her popularity.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUC) leader Arlene Foster gave a speech following the announcement of the party allying with the Conservatives to form a new government.
According to Sky News, she said: "We want the best for all of the UK and these are challenging times."
Foster added her party would discuss with Theresa May’s Tories how to bring “stability” to the UK in a “time of great challenge”.
Steve Crowther becomes United Kingdom Independence Party’s (Ukip) interim leader following Paul Nuttall’s resignation on Friday morning.
Nuttall announced he would be standing down after election results failed to guarantee his party a single seat in parliament.
Crowther said the party would provide the "backbone for Brexit", ITV reports.
The Labour Party has responded to the Prime Minister’s announcement that she will be forming a new government with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUC).
The party said Theresa May should deliver on the will of the British people instead of “burying her head in the sand”.
"Theresa May claims nothing has changed, but the clear message from the electorate is that everything has changed.
"Instead of burying her head in the sand, May needs to listen to what the people of Britain are saying,” Labour said, according to Sky News.
"The British people have not given her the landslide she wanted and many predicted, and Labour will not stand by and let her impose policies that do not have public support or legitimacy.
"Labour will fight for a jobs-first Brexit. We will defend the NHS and press for policies that benefit the many not the few, and we will oppose any attacks on the living standards of working people and pensioners."
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will form a new Conservative minority government with the help of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to provide “certainty” at a “critical time” for the UK.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street following a meeting with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, the Tory leader said she would ally with the DUP, with whom the Conservatives have “enjoyed a strong relationship” over many years.
Through such a deal, the will of the British to withdraw from the EU would be delivered, she said.
She also stressed she is “confident” the two parties can “work together in the interest of Britain.”
In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, May said she would “work to keep our nation safe and secure.”
She added that “fairness and opportunity are at the heart of everything we do” in the delivering of Brexit, before remarking that “no one and no community” will be “left behind” as “prosperity” will be shared across the UK.
Because the Tories won the most seats and the most votes overall, they are the only party with the “legitimacy to command a majority in the House of Commons.”
Saying the deal with the DUP would allow Britain to “come together as a country” and work for a good Brexit deal, she concluded her speech calling on all parties to “get to work.”
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pledged to “work with others to keep the Tories out of government.”
Referring to Theresa May’s decision to call a snap election, Sturgeon accused the PM and her party of being “so arrogant that they thought they could do anything and get away with it.”
The PM’s intent to form a government propped up by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will further “damage” the country, Sturgeon claimed.
She then stressed that the “reckless Tory pursuit of hard Brexit should be abandoned.”
Theresa May is on her way to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace to ask her permission to form a minority Tory government propped up by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has hit out at Theresa May, accusing the Prime Minister of putting the country “at risk” by calling for a snap election “out of sheer arrogance and vanity.”
Demanding her resignation, Farron added May should feel “ashamed” of putting her “party before the country.”
He called it “inconceivable” that she should begin Brexit negotiations in two weeks time.
European leaders have been responding to the election outcome, with many raising concern about delays to Brexit talks, due to start in just 11 days time.
The EU’s Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said the outcome will further complicate Brexit negotiations.
EU Parliament President Jean-Claude Juncker said he “strongly hopes” Britain will be ready to form a stable government as soon as possible, while remarking the EU is ready to start Brexit talks.
A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany has been following the election closely but will refrain from commenting while the UK strives to form a new government.
Larry the Cat, the only 10 D
Paul Nuttall has resigned as UKIP leader after failing to win a seat in parliament and a nationwide battering at the polls.
Nuttall said he was resigning with “immediate effect” and that a new leader would be elected by UKIP’s annual conference in September.
He said a new leader is needed in a “new era” that can “take the party forward and stand up for the British people.”
Nuttall also took a swipe at the PM, saying she had got is “so wrong” and warned of a “backslide on Brexit.”
Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will back Theresa May in propping up a new government. DUP support would allow the Conservatives to reach the 326 seats needed for a majority in parliament.
The DUP does not believe there is a need for a formal coalition deal, Sky News reported.
DUP sources say there is no need for “formal structure” and that there is an absolute “Conservative DUP majority” and “no danger from combined opposition”.
Channel 4 Chief correspondent and presenter Alex Thomson tweeted the DUC will not back Labour until it is headed by Jeremy Corbyn.
Tory leader Theresa May will head to Buckingham Palace at 12:30pm on Friday to seek the Queen’s permission to form a new government, a Downing Street spokesman has said.
Former New Labour Foreign Secretary and one-time leadership hopeful David Miliband has hailed the result of the election and the fact that the UK will no longer lead a ‘hard Brexit’ stance.
As a staunch Corbyn critic, Miliband’s endorsement seems a bit rich!
The EU’s Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt has reacted to the result of the general election saying a hung parliament will further complicate negotiations to draw the UK out the bloc.
RT’s election night team is signing off - thanks for following! Handing over to our fresh-faced day team for more election fallout...
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has reflected on the election result, telling reporters: “Incredible result for the Labour Party because people voted for hope. Young people and old people all came together yesterday.
“A very high turnout, huge increase in the Labour vote and they did it because they want to see things done differently and they want hope in their lives.”
Corbyn told Sky News that Labour is “ready to go everything we can to put our program into operation,” and reiterated his call for Theresa May to quit.
He said: “The arguments put forward by the Conservative Party have lost. I think we need a change.”
When asked whether he intends to try and form a government, he says: “We are ready to serve this country. That is what we fought the election for.”
On the possibility of another election, he says: “Parliament must meet and parliament will then have to take a decision on what happens when a government puts forward a Queen’s Speech.”
On whether Brexit talks must go ahead, he says they will have to because Article 50 has been invoked.
He says putting negotiations off is “not completely in Britain’s hands.”
“We are ready to undertake negotiations on behalf of this country,” he says.
Hung parliament is announced as media wait on Jeremy Corbyn's comment
Theresa May is already in talks with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) after failing to win a Tory majority in the general election, Sky News reports.
With 646 of the 650 seats declared, the Tories, with 315 seats, are not able to reach the 326-mark they need to command a parliamentary majority.
The DUP won 10 seats.
The result is so close in Kensington that tired tellers have been told to go home for a rest and come back later.
The count has been suspended without a result and will resume later on Friday, or even on Saturday, according to the Guardian.
The result is reportedly on a knife-edge between Conservative Victoria Borwick and Labour’s Emma Dent Coad.
Aside from Kensington, we are awaiting three more seats, all in south-west England - Cornwall North, Cornwall South East, and St Austell & Newquay.
The FTSE 100 opened 0.72 percent higher, at 7502. The FTSE 250, however, which contains more UK-focused companies, is down 0.3 percent at 19.687.
The FTSE 100 immediately climbed 0.95 percent higher.
Mike van Dulken from Accendo Markets told the Telegraph: “A very positive opening call comes as FTSE investors embrace fresh GBP weakness following a hung parliament result from the UK election.
“Whilst this means uncertainty about the UK economy and of course Brexit negotiations, the index’s international exposure means it benefits from a FX translational standpoint. The prospect of a softer Brexit stance due to a coalition is also helping.”
The pound is down again against the dollar to $1.2642, seemingly on the back of news that Theresa May is doggedly refusing to resign.
Neil WIlson of ETX Capital told the Guardian: “Sterling took another leg lower as looks like Theresa May will grimly cling on as PM despite a disastrous night for her.
“The pound dipped half a cent, slipping from a fairly comfortable looking $1.27 to $1.265 in pretty short order, and was last trading at $1.264 as it is on course for its biggest fall since October.
“May stepping aside creates uncertainty, but trying to stay as leader looks like it may even more unpredictable and uncertain for markets. Political gridlock is the key here and this doesn’t look good for sterling.”
The Conservatives could be forced to rely on the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland to form a government, now that a hung parliament has been confirmed.
The DUP is the largest unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It has a small electoral edge over its republican rivals, Sinn Fein, who refuse to sit in the British Parliament.
Arlene Foster, 46, is the leader of the staunchly pro-union party. It is pro-Brexit, but does not want to see a ‘hard’ deal.
The DUP has opposed the introduction of same sex marriage in Northern Ireland, as well as lifting the ban on abortion.
In its manifesto it calls the TV licence fee a “highly regressive tax” which was designed for a “different era.” It recommends the fee is cut and abolished.
Conservative MP Nigel Evans says the election result has been an “absolute disaster” for the Tories, claiming the campaign was “hijacked by [his] own party.”
He told the BBC: “We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we shot ourselves in the head.”
Labour’s John McDonnell says the party wants to form a minority government and challenges the Scottish National Party (SNP), Green Party and the Liberal Democrats to support it, ITV reports.
McDonnell told the BBC Labour will seek to form a minority government because the Tories are not "stable."
"I don't want to be derogatory but I think she's a lame duck prime minister, I can't see her surviving. And a number of Conservative MPs are already privately saying that her position is untenable."
McDonnell said rivals within Mrs May's party - such as Boris Johnson and David Davis - were "on manoeuvres" for a leadership election.
He added: "So I can't see them holding together. If they do seek to do a coalition with the DUP... well, pardon the expression but someone used it during the campaign, it is a coalition of chaos."
Sky and BBC sources suggest Theresa May 'will not resign’ and plans to lead minority Tory government.
Tory Zac Goldsmith takes back Richmond Park after losing the seat in a by-election to the Liberal Democrat.
He had quit the Conservative party in protest at plans to expand Heathrow Airport, only to stand unsuccessfully as an independent.
Labour MP Diane Abbott has won what is believed to be her biggest ever majority in Hackney North & Stoke Newington, getting 75 percent of the vote.
She increased her majority by more than 11,000 to over 35,000.
Abbott has been repeatedly criticized in recent weeks for a string of car crash media interviews and gaffes.
She pulled out of two major election events on Tuesday due to illness, amid relentless criticism from the Tories who say she is a weak link in Labour’s team.
She has been replaced as shadow Home Secretary during a “period of ill health,” the party announced on Wednesday.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has confounded his critics by turning a 24 point Conservative lead in the polls into a hung parliament. His startling turnaround has already been hailed as one of Labour’s biggest victories in years.
Corbyn was laughed at by his own MPs, ridiculed by former Prime Minister David Cameron and vilified by rival Theresa May.
Since his first election to the Labour leadership in September 2015, the majority of the UK’s press has routinely dismissed the Islington North MP as unelectable, incompetent and unpatriotic.
Over the past two years he has endured a vote of no confidence, fought a successful re-election campaign, battled rebellions within his own partly and withstood embarrassing leaks to the media.
Now it looks like the Leader of Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition is the strongest politician in the country with a hitherto unseen momentum behind him.
Theresa May is believed to have holed up in Downing Street with her husband and close advisers.
It is understood she will make a speech outside Number 10 at 10am BST.
May has also been at Conservative Campaign HQ where she is believed to have spoken to staff.
Theresa May will give a speech at 10am BST amid speculation she will resign after failing to secure a Conservative majority.
The Green Party’s co-leader Caroline Lucas has retained her party’s sole seat in Brighton Pavilion. No other Green MPs have been elected to Parliament.
Theresa May is facing calls to resign as a hung parliament has now been confirmed.
The Tories are unable to win a majority at this stage. This means Prime Minister Theresa May’s gamble to call a general election to boost her Brexit bargaining hand has failed dismally.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith is calling for “stability” over the next 24 hours.
Speaking to Sky News, he said he wants Theresa May to “stay on because she is the prime minister right now.”
“We absolutely do not need at this particular time - while we are trying to figure all of this out - is for any kind of attempt to have a leadership election. That would be the wrong thing to do.
“I think the most important thing for us as a party … it is feasible for us, if we are around about where we think we might be, for us to form that coalition and to make a government.
“Our objective is to try and make the government and to then continue in government. And if that’s the case, she needs to be the person doing that. And we need to get onto it straight away.”
The Conservatives will not win the landslide victory they hoped for and Labour won’t secure the 326 parliamentary seats they need to form a government. But minority parties could strike a deal with Jeremy Corbyn to push the Tories out of office.
David Davis, the Brexit secretary, said earlier the government could lose its mandate to take the UK out of the single market and customs union.
It comes as former UKIP leader Nigel Farage accused Theresa May of putting Brexit “in jeopardy.”
Tory MP Anna Soubry, who returned by a very slim majority for Broxtowe, says Theresa May should consider her position following a “dreadful campaign.”
Social care and scrapping free school lunches are among the things she cites as damaging the Tory sell on the doorstep.
Soubry says the messaging throughout was “appalling.”
May does not look to be the “strong and stable” leader she claimed to be, Soubry added.
Asked by the BBC whether May should resign, Soubry said: “It’s a matter for her … it’s bad. I think she’s in a very difficult place … She needs to consider her position. It’s a dreadful night.”
Soubry added that lots of “remarkable” Conservatives have lost their seats tonight.
Conservative candidate Greg Knight, whose unintentionally hilarious campaign video featured an 80s-style pop song about the Tories, has been re-elected to his Yorkshire East seat. What a legend.
As the election results come in, it appears even the biggest political names aren’t safe from punishment at the ballot box.
The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg says there’s now a 50:50 chance Theresa May will resign.
A Tory MP who has been charged over election expenses fraud has held his Kent seat.
Craig Mackinlay has been charged with allegedly overspending in the 2015 general election campaign. Police have been investigating whether MPs’ agents should have filed costs for battle bus visits to constituencies under local expenses.
Mackinlay kept control of South Thanet, increasing his vote from 18,838 to 25,262.
Before the election, May said the allegations were “unfounded.”
Former Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond has lost his seat to Conservative Colin Clark.
In his victory speech at his count, Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said he expected Boris Johnson to launch a leadership challenge immediately.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, says she would be open to a progressive alliance that offers an alternative to the Tories.
She says the Scottish National Party (SNP) “has won the election in Scotland” but is disappointed her deputy Angus Robertson has lost his seat.
She says Robertson, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, was an “exceptional” and “outstanding” leader in the House of Commons.
The election has been a “disaster” for May, Sturgeon says.
“One of the biggest issues tonight UK-wide is the fact this is a disaster for Theresa May. She called this election ... tonight she has had an absolutely disastrous performance.”
Kenneth Roth, the director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), has tweeted: “Looks like Theresa May’s last-minute pandering to those who would violate human rights didn’t save the day for her.”
A recount is underway for Hastings and Rye, where Home Secretary Amber Rudd is at risk of losing her seat to Labour.
UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has failed to win his Boston seat, securing just 3,000 votes. The party has seen its share of the vote collapse across the country.
UKIP fielded 377 candidates for the snap election, but if exit polls are correct they will fail to gain a single seat in the House of Commons. UKIP’s only MP, Douglas Carswell, defected back to the Conservatives in March.
Speaking to LBC, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he is “not surprised” the party faces a wipeout.
“The Conservatives have taken on the UKIP agenda. It rather amused me. I listened to Theresa May’s speeches and she was using the same words and phrases I’ve used for the past 20 years. The only trouble is, she didn’t believe in it.
“She doesn't really believe in anything. That was where Corbyn was so impressive. I don’t agree with his agenda, but he went around the country and it was clear he believed in something.”
Theresa May has been re-elected in Maidenhead.
She said Britain needs a period of stability and that her priorities will include getting the Brexit deal right and doing what is best for the country.
“We have yet to see the full picture emerging,” she said.
“At this time more than anything else this country needs a period of stability.
“And if as the indications have shown... the Conservative party has won the most seats and probably the most votes, then it will be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do.”
She urged the nation to“go forward together."
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has held his Westmorland and Lonsdale seat, winning by just 777 votes. Sadly, our favorite candidate, Mr Fish Finger, came in last place with 309 votes.
As expected, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected in Islington North with a belting 40,086 votes.
He started his speech by thanking police for their work, especially last weekend during the London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack. He says it showed the importance of having a properly funded police force.
Corbyn said Theresa May called the election to assert her authority, but “politics has changed” and “people have had quite enough.”
He called on May to resign.
“This election was called in order for the Prime Minister to gain a larger majority in order to assert her authority. The election campaign has gone on for the past six weeks, I’ve travelled the whole country, I’ve spoken at events and rallies all over the country and you know what, politics has changed and politics isn’t going back into the box where it was before.
“What’s happened is people have said they’ve had quite enough of austerity politics, they’ve had quite enough of cuts in public expenditure, underfunding our health service, underfunding our schools and our education service and not giving our young people the chance they deserve in our society. And I’m very, very proud of the campaign that my party has run, our manifesto for the many, not the few, and I’m very proud of the results that are coming in all over the country tonight of people voting for hope, voting for hope for the future and turning their backs on austerity."
Former Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable has won in Twickenham, regaining the seat he lost to the Tories in 2015.
Cable says his party is “doing well in London and in Scotland.”
“We’re looking at a significant increase in our parliamentary party.”
He added: “We’re very clear on the big picture, that we won’t take part in any coalition but we want to be constructive. Parties are going to have to work together not shout at each other.”
In the new Parliament he thinks it will be “possible to pursue a Brexit which retains single market” and Theresa May's vision of what he calls “extreme Brexit” is “simply no longer an option.”
He is already tipped to take the Lib Dem leadership if Tim Farron loses the confidence of members.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has held his seat in Uxbridge and Ruislip South. However, he suffered a 13 percent swing to Labour.
Johnson said even though people voted for him, it is clear the Tories must do more to listen to people’s concerns.
He also thanked the police, and paid tribute to everyone in London who got on with the democratic process in the face of recent terrorist attacks.
With Theresa May’s position looking increasingly precarious, what are the implications of the exit polls for the Prime Minister’s negotiating position when Brexit talks begin in less than a fortnight?
The BBC has now updated its exit poll, and converted it into a forecast.
Broadcasters BBC, ITV and Sky News share the initial exit poll, but after that, as results come in, they produce their own analysis.
The BBC puts the Conservatives up eight on the figure at the 10pm exit poll, to 322, and puts Labour at 251, down five.
If this is accurate, the Tories would be just four seats short of a majority.
That means, with the support of Northern Ireland unionists, they could expect to pass a budget and a Queen’s speech, and outvote Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems.
Sky News expect the Tories to get between 308 and 328 seats. Their central forecast is 318, which is up four on the exit poll, but four below the BBC’s forecast.
It's confirmed - Nick Clegg is out.
He lost the Sheffield Hallam seat by 19,756 to Labour's 21,881.
Nigel Farage, the former UKIP leader, told the BBC it was a mistake for the Tories to choose a Remain politician to oversee Brexit, adding that Theresa May had now lost her “credibility.”
A second referendum on Brexit is now a real possibility, he said, which would bring him back to frontline politics.
The Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader Angus Robertson has lost his seat to the Conservatives’ Douglas Ross, with a majority of 4,159 votes.
Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told reporters Theresa May has “committed grave political error” and Labour “will form a government at the first opportunity.”
Labour’s Marsha de Cordova has taken Battersea with 25,292 votes.
She has defected Conservative minister Jane Ellison, on 22,876, in the strongly pro-Remain area.
According to Liberal Democrat sources, former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg may have lost his Sheffield Hallam constituency after failing to fight off a Labour surge.
The Remainer has held the seat since 2005. After a Liberal Democrat boost in the 2010 election, he served as David Cameron’s deputy in a coalition government.
Earlier in the evening, he told the Daily Mail: “I've seen in Sheffield a resurgence in the Labour vote. Whatever happens it’s clearly a complete boomerang election for the Conservatives. They were treating it close to a coronation.
“There's absolutely no way the Liberal Democrats should endorse that by putting Jeremy Corbyn or Theresa May in number 10.
“One of the reasons we've got to this sorry pass is because the Conservatives had the extraordinarily arrogant assumption that the referendum would be a breeze.
“Now we have a general election come from the hubris. When is the Conservative Party going to stop treating the country like a plaything.”
Tom Watson, deputy Labour Party leader, has been re-elected MP for West Bromwich East.
He says the election will be a “very, very bad result” for Theresa May. He says her authority “has been undermined” and her “reputation may never recover.”
"She said she was strong and stable, the public saw that she was weak and wobbly. She said she was a bloody difficult woman … the public saw she was just a woman finding it all a bit too bloody difficult.
"Labour fought a people-powered campaign, pursued passion and principle against the Tories’ corporate millions…people responded well to Jeremy Corbyn’s integrity, candour and energy…and they saw through the lies of the Murdoch machine who tried to frighten people into voting Tory."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is now the bookies favorite to be Britain’s next prime minister.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has issued a statement saying his campaign has changed the face of British politics.
“I’d like to thank all our members and supporters who have worked so hard on this campaign, from door knocking to social media, and to everyone who voted for a manifesto which offers real change for our country. Whatever the final result, we have already changed the face of British politics.”
08 June 2017
Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond could be in danger of losing his seat to the Tories, it has been predicted.
Salmond, who resigned as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) following his defeat in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, won the parliamentary seat from Liberal Democrat Malcolm Bruce in 2015.
Early reports suggest the Conservatives are confident their candidate Colin Clark could take the seat from Salmond.
The Liberal Democrats are also said to be doing well in the area.
The SNP are predicted to lose 22 of their 56 seats in Scotland, according to the exit poll.
It is not yet clear what the SNP results mean for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s hopes for a second Scottish independence referendum.
Northern Ireland’s Sinn Fein will maintain its policy of not taking up its seats in the British parliament, the nationalist party’s president says, a position that will cut the number of seats needed to win a parliamentary majority.
“If we are fortunate enough and privileged enough to have our candidates returned as MPs, it will be on the basis that we will not be going to take our seats in Westminster,” Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams told reporters.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry is sticking to her call for Theresa May to resign, and says it seems Labour “could form the next government.”
“Think about it - [May] basically wanted to stamp out the opposition and the country has said no,” she says.
“We put forward a positive alternative. She’s nowhere near a larger majority - she’s failed.”
Thornberry says she’s “disappointed” it looks like Labour won’t win outright, “but weeks ago people were asking how big [May’s] crown was going to be.”
Tory Home Secretary Amber Rudd could potentially lose her seat, according to exit polls.
Rudd is the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hastings and Rye in south-east England, where she has a 9.4 percent lead - putting her in the danger zone.
The seat is expected to declare around 2.30am BST, the BBC reports.
Betting websites have Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as 2:1 to be the next prime minister if Theresa May is forced to step down.
Alan Clarke, head of European Fixed-Income Strategy at Scotiabank, says: “If the result is confirmed, Theresa May will have thrown away a bigger majority of 17 seats.
“There has got to be a good chance that she stands down as Prime Minister in this environment.
“The betting websites have Boris Johnson has 2:1 to be the next prime minister after Theresa May.”
Tune in to the RT news channel from 6am BST for our special election results coverage.
Armed police posted outside Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s house.
The Liberal Democrats tweeted: “We are getting a lot of calls so just to be clear: No Coalition. No deals.”
UKIP has accused May of putting “Brexit in jeopardy.”
“I said at the start this election was wrong. Hubris,” leader Paul Nuttall tweeted.
Former Tory Chancellor George Osborne said if the exit polls come to fruition, Theresa May would “not survive in the long term” at the helm of her party.
Appearing on ITV, Osborne cast doubt on May’s future as party leader.
“I worked very well with Theresa May and I think she has intelligence and integrity,” he said.
“Clearly if she’s got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative Party leader.
“But you know we are all talking about a poll. So I’m nervous of making certain statements but look, the problem she will have if it’s anything like that number, she’s got Irish unionists … that does not get you necessarily to 326 and the Liberal Democrats on 14 here are, so unlikely to go into coalition with the Conservatives this time round, not least because they’ve made commitments to things like a second European referendum.
“So I look at those numbers, I helped put together the Coalition in 2010 and you could make the numbers quite easily add up if you could get the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives to come together. I look at these numbers, you can’t make them add up.”
In Houghton and Sunderland South, Labour’s Bridget Phillipson wins.
Labour held the seat with 24.665 votes. That is 59.6 percent, up 4.4 points on last time.
The Tories were second on 12,324, up 11 points on 2015 and benefiting from UKIP falling 16 points.
The result is a 3.5 percent swing from Labour to Conservative - the opposite to what the exit poll predicted.
Labour holds Newcastle, with a two percent swing to Labour from Tories.
Labour MP Clive Lewis has tweeted: “Whatever happens, May is TOAST!”
Have your say on RT’s Twitter poll: Should Theresa May resign if the Conservatives don’t win a majority?
The Liberal Democrats will make “no pact, no deal, no coalition” with either Labour or the Conservatives in the event of a hung parliament, former party leader Ming Campbell has said.
“[Lib Dem leader] Tim Farron made it very clear: he said no pact, no deal, no coalition. We’ve had our fingers burned by coalition. I don’t need to tell you that,” he told the BBC.
“I find it very, very difficult to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what he’s previously said and indeed to persuade the membership of the Liberal Democrats that a coalition would be a good idea from our point of view.”
The Lib Dems, then under the leadership of Nick Clegg, entered coalition with David Cameron’s Conservatives in 2010. They were punished severely at the polls in the 2015 general election as a result of the collaboration.
A Labour spokesperson told the Independent such a result would be “extraordinary” and would punish the Tories for “taking the British people for granted.”
“If this poll turns out to be anywhere near accurate, it would be an extraordinary result.
“There’s never been such a turnaround in a course of a campaign … Labour has run a positive and honest campaign - we haven’t engaged in smears or personal attacks.”
UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, one of May’s top ministers, says: “This is a projection ... it’s not a result.”
He told the BBC: “Let’s see some actual results to see if this is borne out - this is a projection, I think you made that clear, it is not a result.
“These exit polls have been wrong in the past. In 2015 they underestimated our vote.
“I think in a couple of elections before that they overestimated our vote.
“So we do need to see some actual results before we interpret this one way or the other.”
George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor and editor of the London Evening Standard, said such an outcome would be “completely catastrophic” for the party and the PM.
“It is early days. It’s a poll. If the poll is anything like accurate this is completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and for Theresa May,” Osborne said, according to Reuters.
“It’s difficult to see, if these numbers were right, how they would put together the coalition to remain in office. But equally it's quite difficult looking at those numbers to see how Labour could put together a coalition, so it’s on a real knife edge, and I think over the next few hours it's going to make a huge difference just a few ... seats because by my reckoning both parties have got coalitions which just fall short of an overall majority.”
There are already calls for Theresa May to resign if her party does not win a majority.
Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry told Sky News that Theresa May has “manifestly failed” and should step down if the exit poll is correct.
The pound has taken a heavy blow following the exit poll, showing the Conservatives short of an overall majority.
If the exit poll is correct, May will be 12 seats short of a majority. It predicts the Conservatives will be the largest party but will lose 17 seats with a projection of 314 seats.
The poll suggests Labour will get 266 seats - a rise of 34.
It puts the Liberal Democrats at 14, an increase of six, the Scottish National Party (SNP) at 34, while UKIP will fail to win any, remaining at 0.
Exit polls predict Theresa May’s Conservatives will form the largest party in the UK General Election - but may fall short of a majority, causing a hung parliament.
A joint BBC, ITV and Sky News election poll was released soon after 10pm BST when polling stations closed.
It puts the Tories on 314 seats, Labour on 266, the Scottish National Party (SNP) on 34, Liberal Democrats on 14, and UKIP on 0.
The survey was taken from 144 polling stations across Britain, asking voters at these stations to mark a mock ballot paper to show how they voted.
Similar exit polls have correctly predicted who would take the keys to Number 10 in the last five elections.