UK election: Conservatives sweep to victory

WESTMINSTER, LONDON: The Conservatives will form the new British government, with party leader David Cameron ready to visit Queen Elizabeth at 1230 London time Friday to request her consent to form her next government. In a stunning electoral outcome, the conservatives managed to win 320 seats with 15 constituencies due to report in the coming hours.

“This is the sweetest victory of all,” a jubilant Cameron told party supporters.

For Labour, the election was a stunning lost. It was virtually wiped out in Scotland, retaining just a single seat in Scotland and enter the new parliament with 20 seats less than before.

Cameron can't wait to buckle up to work, saying France's Hollande has invited him to Paris to discuss EU and international matters.

Ed Miliband, the party's leader, will step down by 12 noon and he is currently meeting party officials here in London.

But it was in Scotland that a seismic shift occurred – with the Scottish National Party winning 56 of the 59 seats north of the border.

Labour's vote in Scotland collapsed – largely as a result of it opposing independence in last September's referendum and because the party leader, Ed Miliband, ruled out any post-election coalition deal with the SNP.

“This is an enormous moment for the SNP,” Jim Murphy, the leader of Labour in Scotland said after losing his seat after 18 years in parliament. “But never mistake a party for a flag or a country.”

Liberal Democrats, who were the junior coalition partners with Cameron's Conservatives going into Thursday's election, also saw their support collapse, leaving it with a possible 10 seats, down 57 in the previous parliament.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who managed to hold his seat in Sheffield Hallam, was also under pressure to resign.

Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru were on course to win four seats, while the Greens looked likely to double their representation from one to two seats. Reporting by Mick O'Reilly, Senior Associate Editor

UK election results

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Party & leader			Seats
	Conservative Party David Cameron		301 46%
	Labour Party Ed Miliband		222 34%
	Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon		56 9%
	Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg		8 1%
	Democratic Unionist Party Peter Robinson		8 1%
	Sinn Féin Gerry Adams		4 1%
	Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales Leanne Wood		3 0%
	Social Democratic and Labour Party Alasdair McDonnell		3 0%
	Ulster Unionist Party		2 0%
	UK Independence Party Nigel Farage		1 0%
	Green Party Natalie Bennett		1 0%
	Others		1 0%
	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland David Ford		0 0%
	Respect Party George Galloway		0 0%

London stock market surges

London's stock market surged at the start of trading on Friday as Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives looked set for a surprise victory in Britain's general election. The benchmark FTSE 100 index rallied 2.0 per cent in initial deals to 7,024.37 points.

The pound rallied with UK stocks and bonds as results in Britain’s general election suggested the Conservative Party was on course to win a majority, ending investor concern that drawn-out coalition talks would be needed. Sterling surged the most since 2009 against the euro, and strengthened at least 1.2 per cent versus all of its 16 major counterparts. Gilt yields fell the most in almost two months, shares of banks jumped and measures of anticipated swings in the currency tumbled.

Predictions

Volunteers count ballot papers inside the English Institute of Sport.

With 508 of 650 constituencies reporting results Friday morning in Britain's parliamentary election, the Conservatives were leading with 222 seats, according to election officials. The opposition Labour Party has won 203 seats and the Scottish National Party 55. Eight seats have gone to the Democratic Unionists in Northern Ireland, while the Liberal Democrats won six seats and the UK Independence Party earned one. Thirteen seats went to other smaller parties. An exit poll has predicted that the Conservatives will be the top party in Thursday's vote, winning 316 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

A woeful Clegg

Liberal Democrat Party leader Nick Clegg managed to hang on to his seat in Parliament when results were announced on Friday morning, but admitted that his party had suffered a terrible string of setbacks in Britain's general election. The party that had been the junior partner in a Conservative-led government lost most of its seats. An exit poll suggested it would win perhaps 10 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons - down from 56 - and several major party figures were ousted by voters.

Nick Clegg and his wife Miriam Gonzalez Durantez

After his own win, a woeful Clegg said "It is now painfully clear this has been a cruel and punishing night for the Liberal Democrats." Clegg, who has served as the UK's deputy prime minister for the last five years, hinted that he would be discussing his party leadership with colleges later Friday.

George Galloway lost

George Galloway, one of Britain's most colourful and controversial figures, has lost his Bradford West seat to the Labour Party.

UK election results

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Party & leader			Seats
	Conservative Party David Cameron		191 29%
	Labour Party Ed Miliband		187 29%
	Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon		54 8%
	Democratic Unionist Party Peter Robinson		8 1%
	Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg		6 1%
	Sinn Féin Gerry Adams		4 1%
	Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales Leanne Wood		3 0%
	Social Democratic and Labour Party Alasdair McDonnell		3 0%
	Ulster Unionist Party		2 0%
	UK Independence Party Nigel Farage		1 0%
	Others		1 0%
	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland David Ford		0 0%
	Green Party Natalie Bennett		0 0%
	Respect Party George Galloway		0 0%

Early results point to Conservative victory

David Cameron is on course to return to Downing Street with early results pointing to a dramatic Conservative election victory, but the country he leads is straining apart after a night of triumph for Scottish nationalists.

 

Congratulations to @michelledonelan. #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/gmUVlbosT7— Conservatives (@Conservatives) May 8, 2015

Early results supported exit polls forecasts that the Conservatives would win 316 seats, within touching distance of the 323 seats Cameron needs for an effective majority and a much better result than he had dared to expect.

Meanwhile Labour was predicted to win just 239 seats, suggesting the party was on course for its worst election result since 1987 - a crushing disappointment for Ed Miliband, who believed he was on the brink of power.

 

Whoever forms next govt will have huge task in terms of uniting our country— Labour Press Team (@labourpress) May 8, 2015

Labour was swept aside north of the border by an unstoppable Scottish National party surge, in a result which could embolden the SNP to push for a second independence referendum.

 

Nicola Sturgeon the SNP leader, said she expected a "good night" and early results suggested the party could be on course to win almost every one of the 59 Scottish seats.

The election has exposed tensions in the UK, with Scotland turning to a leftwing, separatist party and England choosing Cameron's centre-right Tories. Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader, claimed  Cameron had "no legitimacy" in Scotland.

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats were initially dismissive of forecasts suggesting they could lose 47 of their 57 seats, but by 2am Lib Dem officials admitted that a catastrophic projection of just 10 seats "could be right".

A desolate Neil Kinnock, former Labour leader, said his party appeared set for a "very disappointing night", reminiscent of his own defeat in 1992 when voters declined to tell pollsters they were preparing to vote Tory.

The most vivid sign of the political landscape shifting came at 1.45am in Nuneaton - a top Labour target - where the Tories held on comfortably. Instead of a swing to Labour, there was a 3 per cent swing to the Tories.

Elsewhere Labour was failing to capture key Tory seats while the Liberal Democrat vote was in freefall across the country.

The initial exit poll was greeted with surprise and jubilation by the Conservatives and Michael Gove, chief whip, said that if it was borne out by results it would show that Mr Cameron had "clearly won the election".

If Cameron ends up close to the 323 seat winning line, he could try to govern as a minority administration, knowing it is unlikely all other parties would unite in the Commons to defeat him on any issue.

At the start of the evening Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, insisted that Ed Miliband, Labour leader, could emerge as prime minister at the head of an anti-Tory bloc, even if her party finished a distant second.

But by 2.45am Labour admitted that "David Cameron could end up in Downing St" on a a night of despair, encapsulated by the defeat of Douglas Alexander, the party's campaign chief, at the hands of a 20-year-old SNP student.

Jim Murphy, the party's leader in Scotland, was also swept away by the SNP tide and the nationalists also captured Kirkcaldy, Gordon Brown's former seat.

The 2015 election could also herald a further loosening of the ties that hold the UK together, as the SNP continued to strengthen its grip on politics in Scotland. In Glenrothes, the party secured a 35 per cent swing, unprecedented in any UK general election.

In spite of losing the Scottish independence referendum by 55-45, the SNP surge at this election could lead to further demands for a more federal settlement in the UK and add to pressure for a second referendum.

Ukip was on course to become the third biggest party in Britain in terms of the popular vote, but predictions suggested Nigel Farage's party would win only a handful of seats.

Indeed Ukip sources said Farage could fail to win South Thanet, the Kent seat he is contesting. Farage has said he would quit as Ukip leader if he failed to get elected, offering another potential cause for Tory celebration.

If the exit polls are correct, the national result will be a vindication of the strategy of Conservative party campaign chief Lynton Crosby to focus on two themes in the election: economic competence and  Cameron's leadership.

The leadership has been criticised for running a sterile and negative campaign in recent weeks from MPs and even donors amid growing nervousness after five weeks of deadlocked polls.

"This is at the top end of expectations," said Gove. "But my view is that we had very good candidates fighting what has been a very good campaign and we would do well." Agencies

David Cameron and the Conservatives are on course to become the largest party in Westminster

WESTMINSTER, LONDON: David Cameron and the Conservatives are on course to become the largest party in Westminster – but fall within 10 seats of forming an overall majority.

David Cameron

Four hours after polls closed in what had been predicted as the tightest race in four decades, Cameron looked set to win 316 of the 650 seats in Westminster.

If the predictions hold true, Cameron may be tempted to form a minority government, or rely on an estimated eight Democratic Unionist Party MPs from Northern Ireland.

But it was in Scotland that a seismic shift occurred – with the Scottish National Party projected to win 58 of the 59 seats north of the border – and might take all.

Labour's vote in Scotland collapsed – largely as a result of it opposing independence in last September's referendum and because the party leader, Ed Miliband, ruled out any post-election coalition deal with the SNP.

“This is an enormous moment for the SNP,” Jim Murphy, the leader of Labour in Scotland said after losing his seat after 18 years in parliament. “But never mistake a party for a flag or a country.”

Overall, Miliband's party was likely to win 239 seats – a total that place his position as party leader in jeopardy.

Liberal Democrats also saw their support collapse, leaving it with a possible 10 seats, down 57 in the previous parliament.

Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru were on course to win four seats, while the Greens looked likely to double their representation from one to two seats. Reporting by Mick O'Reilly, Senior Associate Editor

UK election results

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