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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Claire Phipps, Andrew Sparrow, Matthew Weaver and Kevin Rawlinson

UK general election 2017: Trump offers 'warm support' to Theresa May – as it happened

Live election results tracker

This live blog is now closing, but coverage continues on our fresh live blog:

Theresa May also confirmed on Friday that her top five cabinet ministers – chancellor Philip Hammond, home secretary Amber Rudd, foreign secretary Boris Johnson, Brexit secretary David Davis, and defence secretary Michael Fallon – would stay in their roles.

But pressure is growing on May to step aside herself, or to sack her two key advisers, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, to whom many in the party attribute the car-crash campaign performance.

A chastened Theresa May has apologised to her party colleagues, after squandering the Conservatives’ majority.

In a contrite interview, May said:

I wanted to achieve a larger majority. That was not the result we secured. And I’m sorry for all those candidates and hard-working party workers who weren’t successful, but also for those colleagues who were MPs and ministers and contributed so much to our country and who lost their seats and who didn’t deserve to lose their seats.

Her explicit apology came after some colleagues were infuriated by an earlier statement in Downing Street that failed to acknowledge the disastrous election result, which many regard as self-inflicted.

Nicky Morgan, who was sacked as education secretary by May, said:

I’m reeling. I think we’re all reeling. I think there’s real fury against the campaign and the buck stops at the top.

Sinn Féin has criticised Theresa May’s decision to try to shore up her minority government with the support of the DUP, with party president Gerry Adams warning that history showed:

Alliances between Ulster unionism and British unionism have always ended in tears.

A spokesman for Sinn Féin – which won in seven Northern Ireland constituencies but will, as always, decline to take its seats in Westminster – told the Guardian there “wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell” of the party ditching its abstentionism policy.

The party’s Northern leader, Michelle O’Neill, said:

It is no surprise that the DUP have sided with the Tories. Experience shows that unionists have minimal influence on any British government be that on Major, Thatcher or Theresa May.

They have achieved little propping up Tory governments in the past and put their own interests before those of the people.

Updated

Bernie Sanders has congratulated Jeremy Corbyn on Labour’s performance in the general election. The Vermont senator – who narrowly failed to win his bid for the Democratic nomination against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race for the White House – said he had watched the UK results coming in on Thursday and was very pleased about the party’s showing.

“I am delighted to see Labour do so well,” the Vermont senator said in a Facebook post, linking to a Guardian news story. He went on:

All over the world, people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality. People in the UK, the US and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the 1%.

I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very effective campaign.

General Election 2017 aftermathUndated handout file photo issued by the Labour Party of Preet Kaur Gill, who has become the first female Sikh MP elected to parliament. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday June 9, 2017. See PA story ELECTION Sikh. Photo credit should read: The Labour Party/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Preet Kaur Gill.

Preet Gill made history yesterday, winning Birmingham Edgbaston for Labour (the seat vacated by Gisela Stuart), and in so doing becoming the first Sikh woman elected to the House of Commons. Gill said she hoped she would become “one of many”:

The fact there has never been one before, it’s a big issue.

There have previously been five Sikh MPs – all male – though none were elected in the 2015 general election.

Gill will be joined in the Commons by Tanmanjeet Dhesi, who won for Labour in Slough, and becomes the first turban-wearing Sikh MP.

Updated

My colleague Graham Ruddick reports that the election result signals a shift in the media’s role:

May’s setback will raise questions about the influence of Fleet Street on the electorate, given that the majority of national newspapers strongly backed her and the Conservatives. The Guardian reported last week that some of the most shared articles on social media about the general election were from partisan blogs such as Another Angry Voice, The Canary and Evolve Politics, which backed Labour.

The Sun had urged its readers not to “chuck Britain in the Cor-bin” in its last edition before the election, provoking a backlash on social media, while on Wednesday the Daily Mail devoted 13 pages to attacking Labour, Corbyn, Diane Abbott and John McDonnell under the headline “Apologists for terror”.

But, as with other papers in Scotland and across the UK, Scottish Sun is not holding back today:

The uncertain political landscape extends to the Brexit negotiations, which begin in just 10 days’ time … somewhere:

The White House has issued a readout of the call between US president Donald Trump and Theresa May:

President Donald J Trump spoke today with prime minister Theresa May of the United Kingdom to offer his warm support regarding the election.

President Trump emphasised his commitment to the United States-United Kingdom special relationship and underscored that he looks forward to working with the prime minister on shared goals and interests in the years to come.

Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has a snippy reply to that Telegraph front page headline, which reads: “Scots Tories go their own way”.

Scotland's front pages

The Scottish newspaper front pages offer no more succour to the embattled PM – and little to the first minister, either:

Updated

Saturday's newspaper front pages

This is Claire Phipps picking up the live blog.

Given yesterday’s results – and the days and weeks of newspaper front pages that preceded them – we should probably be reassessing the power of a page 1 to swing voter opinion. But nonetheless, the turning of the (previously supportive) press on the (still) prime minister will surely be giving those in No 10 something to think about tonight.

And here’s the Guardian front page:

Updated

In her victory speech, Emma Dent Coad said she would focus on overcoming “unforgivable inequalities” in Kensington.

This constituency is a microcosm of everything that is wrong in this country after seven years of incompetent and uncaring coalition and Tory government.

I will do everything in my power in the next five years to make ‘One Kensington’ an example of the finest qualities of common humanity, mutual respect for all our communities and social justice to create a thoughtful, kind, co-operative and tolerant society where we can all prosper and thrive.

She gave the Liberal Democrat candidate, Annabel Mullin, a special mention for “stealing some Tory votes and letting me through”.

Updated

The presidents of France and the US called Theresa May to congratulate her after the election, despite the Conservatives losing their majority, Downing Street says.

US president Donald Trump called the prime minister to offer his congratulations. Both sides agreed they look forward to continuing the close cooperation between our two countries.

The French president Emmanuel Macron called to congratulate the prime minister, and said he was pleased that she would continue to be a close partner.

The president invited the prime minister to visit France at the earliest possible opportunity, and they agreed that the strong friendship between our two countries was important and would endure.

After Ruth Davidson, Tom Tugendhat has become the latest Tory to express reservations about a deal with the DUP:

Following her tweet, Davidson told BBC Scotland she had received an assurance from Theresa May on protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex (LGBTI) rights in Northern Ireland.

I was fairly straightforward with her and I told her that there were a number of things that count to me more than party. One of them is country, one of the others is LGBTI rights.

She said she received a “categoric assurance” from the prime minister that an arrangement between the Conservatives and the DUP would see “absolutely no rescission of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK”.

Updated

Some of our younger readers have been sharing their views on the election:

My colleague in Paris, Angelique Chrisafis, has news on the French reaction to the election result:

The atmosphere was electric outside the hall and members of local community groups from some of Kensington’s most marginalised neighbourhoods gave Emma Dent Coad a hero’s welcome as she walked out to greet them.

Afterwards, she said

I’m very very happy and absolutely thrilled especially for the people outside to give them a voice. They deserve a voice. They haven’t anyone speaking out for them before and that’s what I’ll be doing.

They have felt very let down by politicians and I’ve been working closely with them. I’ll be speaking out for them, and for all the residents of Kensington of course but these people haven’t had a voice for a very long time.

Choking up, she added: “That’s what has driven me.” She said she had only had 40 minutes’ sleep.

I’m beyond exhausted. I’m just running on adrenalin. I knew the result was possible but didn’t know what would happen in the end.

My colleague, John Harris, made this film on the two Kensingtons (in London and Liverpool) back in April 2015. It’s worth a watch.

A tale of two Kensingtons: London and Liverpool ... and the election’s inequality gap

Updated

Supporters of each of the candidates had made the way back to Kensington town hall for the count, although there were notably more backing Labour’s Emma Dent Coad. Outside, 30 or 40 Labour supporters had gathered and were loudly chanting “Tories Out”, while others brought drums.

Afterwards, Dent Coad greeted the crowd to deafening applause. “Kensington has spoken,” she said.

Each of the candidates thanked officials for working hard throughout last night and today, while the Tory candidate, Victoria Borwick, promised that the fight to regain the seat would start tomorrow.

Updated

The winner in Kensington was declared nearly 24 hours after polls closed because three recounts were necessary to determine the result. After the second recount, officials sent staff home to rest.

The west London seat, the boundaries of which have been redrawn several times, had been in the hands of the Conservatives since its establishment in 1974. It is seen as a natural Tory haven partly because it is Britain’s richest constituency, according to the latest data from HM Revenue & Customs.

Kensington’s average income was £148,000 per annum in 2014-15, putting it ahead of Cities of London of Westminster, where the average was £127,000, and Chelsea and Fulham, where it was £117,000. In no other constituency were average earnings as great as £100,000.

Updated

Labour wins Kensington

Labour has taken the Kensington seat, the country’s richest, from the Conservatives. Emma Dent Coad defeated Victoria Borwick, a former deputy mayor to Boris Johnson, by 20 votes - adding more than 5,000 votes to the party’s 2015 tally.

It is the last seat to return an MP and the announcement gives the final seats totals.

  • Conservative: 318
  • Labour: 262
  • SNP: 35
  • Lib Dem: 12
  • DUP: 10
  • Sinn Fein: 7 (not taken up)
  • Plaid Cymru: 4
  • Green: 1

Updated

The former Tory minister, Anna Soubry, believes the prime minister’s co-chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, should be sacked.

Soubry told Channel 4 News that May “needs to listen to more people than just the two people that she seems to rely on all the time”.

But she defended the Tory campaign mastermind, Sir Lynton Crosby, saying:

I’m hearing rumours that Lynton Crosby is in some way being blamed for this election. That’s a nonsense.

We should have had more Lynton Crosby and less of people who have never run a campaign, never stood for public office, who haven’t got a clue. And that has been proved in this.

Updated

As the talks drew to a close, people with sound systems arrived and some began dancing on the grass verge with beers. Jamila Zebiri and her boyfriend Anton Flanders, both 32 and from Hackney, discussed the government relying on the DUP.
Zebiri said:

Jamila Zebiri and Anton Flanders discussed the government relying on the DUP.
Jamila Zebiri and Anton Flanders discussed the government relying on the DUP.

I came today because despite not getting the majority, it looks like we are going to have a Conservative government and, as if that wasn’t bad enough, they are going to be using the DUP, which is basically an extremist party as far as I’m concerned. They have extreme views about gay marriage and women’s rights and I think it’s totally inappropriate to have them anywhere near government.

Flanders agreed.

I’m here to show my support to Labour, who I thought should have won. The DUP are just going to make things worse for people and we don’t want them. Theresa May is also not wanted. I was shocked she decided to stay. This election was her idea in the first place but she’s staying anyway even though it wasn’t a landslide.

Updated

David Jones, a minister in David Davis’ Brexit department, has said he supports Theresa May but that it was “impossible to say” if she would still be prime minister in six months’ time. He told BBC Wales it was “probably impossible for anyone else to say too”. Pressed on how long May would stay prime minister, Jones said: “That remains to be seen.”

Gareth Murphy, a self-employed IT contractor and member of Unite, said he wanted to show his support for Labour.

Gareth Murphy was at Whitehall to support Labour.
Gareth Murphy was at Whitehall to support Labour.

I can’t see what Theresa May is going to do to fix this. She has made a complete mess of things. I can’t see it working with the DUP and don’t see how she can stay on as prime minister.

Yesterday was such an important day. Last night was a very happy occasion for me and so many others. But I think Theresa will try and hang on. The Tories don’t like leaders who do badly in elections though, so anything could happen this weekend.

Updated

Lord Ashcroft, the former Tory deputy chairman who is now a polling specialist, carried out a survey of 14,000 people who voted yesterday to investigate why they acted as they did. He has written up his findings here and one of the most interesting details is that Labour voters were more likely to have delayed making a decision.

Labour voters made their minds up much later in the campaign than those who backed the Tories. More than half (57%) of those who voted Labour made their decision in the last month, and more than a quarter (26%) in “the last few days”. Conservatives were more likely to have known how they would vote before the campaign started.

That’s all from me for today.

My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is taking over the blog now.

Updated

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, seems to have reservations about her party getting close to the Democratic Unionist party. She has chosen to post this on Twitter.

Updated

For the first time, more than half of MPs elected to the House of Commons were educated in state comprehensive schools, according to a round-up of MPs educational backgrounds published by the Sutton Trust.

The new parliament will have 51% of MPs educated at comprehensives, compared with less than half in 2015, while the proportion of MPs who were privately educated falls to 29%.

Two-thirds of Labour MPs went to comprehensives, along with 38% of Tory MPs. Of the latest intake of 98 MPs - not including the undeclared Kensington constituency - 67% went to comprehensives, while 18% went to state grammar schools.

The shift comes as the Conservative party struggles with its manifesto commitment to open new grammar schools in England. The policy was pushed by Nick Timothy, May’s adviser, but it failed to impress voters and was downplayed during the election campaign.

Almost nine out of 10 of MPs are graduates, with 23% having Oxbridge degrees and 29% attending other Russell Group universities. Oxford with 98 alumni in the House has almost double Cambridge’s 52.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, said:

If parliament is to truly represent the nation as a whole, able people from all backgrounds should have the opportunity to become MPs.

Updated

Here is Joe Murphy, political editor of the Evening Standard, on tonight’s non-reshuffle.

This is from John Simpson, the BBC’s world affairs editor.

Labour supporters, campaign groups and trade unionists have joined forces for impromptu protest outside Downing Street.

Dismayed at Theresa May’s decision not to resign and instead to team up with the Democratic Unionist party, tens of people joined the protest which was organised in just a few hours with many more expected to join after office hours.

Protesters were chanting “Hey Ho Theresa May has got to go” and “Tories Tories Tories, Out Out Out” as crowds gathered on Whitehall outside the prime minister’s residence.

Organised on Facebook, one of the organisers, Rees Arnott-Davies, said:

Now of the time to tell Theresa May to do one. Her coalition of chaos with the racist, sexist, homophobic, sectarian DUP can’t stand. This government does not have our confidence.

The Lambeth National Union of Teachers called for members to descend on Whitehall saying: “Theresa May has no right to remain as prime minister. Her mandate has been decimated.”

Protesters outside No 10.
Protesters outside No 10. Photograph: Nicola Slawson

Updated

Hammond, Johnson, Rudd, Davis and Fallon all keep their jobs, No 10 says

Downing Street has just issued this statement. Theresa May’s most senior cabinet ministers are all keeping their jobs.

Downing Street press notice.
Downing Street press notice. Photograph: No 10

There was speculation during the campaign that May would move Philip Hammond as chancellor, replacing him perhaps with Amber Rudd, the home secretary. But with May enfeebled by the result, she does not have the authority to demote the government’s second most senior figure.

Tory MP Heidi Allen says May should go within six months

Heidi Allen, the newly re-elected MP for South Cambridgeshire, has said, in effect, that May should step down and it is only the imminence of Brexit talks which might necessitate her staying on as prime minister for a few more months.

Allen told LBC:

If this were any other election in any other time in our history, then you’d say, oh yes, the prime minister needs to stand down. But this is different, because we’re about to start negotiating, of course, with Brexit.

We do need a prime minister at this moment. I don’t believe personally that Theresa May will stay as our prime minister indefinitely, in my view it may well be just a period of transition. We do need to get some stability.

Allen said the UK should seek to “buy ourselves some time” before starting Brexit talks with the EU, and that this could decide how long May stayed as prime minister. But she said May should not stay longer than six months.

It depends on how those conversations go, but certainly I don’t see any more than six months.

Allen said she would like to see “an entirely new Conservative party”. Asked about the role of May’s key advisers, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, Allen blamed the prime minister directly:

Frankly, if the leader picks people who advise her so badly and cannot see that they’re being advised badly then that tells me, I’m afraid, that that’s not the leader we need.

Updated

May refuses to commit herself to trying to serve full parliament as PM

Earlier, after going to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen, Theresa May gave a speech outside No 10. (See 1.13pm.) It was a remarkably tone-deaf performance, because at no point did May acknowledge that her party had lost seats or that her decision to call the election had backfired. Her lack of contrition seems to have gone down particularly badly with Tory MPs who lost their seats.

Now May has recorded a clip for broadcasters intended to make up for this omission. Here are the key points.

  • May said she was “sorry” for the Tory candidates who lost.

I wanted to achieve a larger majority. That was not the result we secured. And I’m sorry for all those candidates and hard-working party workers who weren’t successful, but also for those colleagues who were MPs and ministers and contributed so much to our country and who lost their seats and who didn’t deserve to lose their seats.

  • She said she would “reflect” on what went wrong.

And, as I reflect on the results, I will reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward.

  • She sidestepped a question about whether she had been weakened by the result. Asked if this was the case, she just said that it was important to have certainty, which was why she was forming a government in the national interest.
  • She refused to commit herself herself to trying serve a full parliament as PM. Asked if she could last five years as PM, she replied:

What is important is that we bring the government together, we form a government, in the national interest at this critical time for our country because we do face the challenge of those Brexit negotiations. So it’s important to have a government that can take the negotiations through. That’s what I’m doing, forming a government.

  • She hinted that her co-chiefs of staff could have their roles changed. When it was put to her that some MPs were calling for “staff changes” (a reference to Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill - see 3.44pm), she said she was currently focused on forming a cabinet. But she went on:

And obviously there will be further ministerial posts and other personnel issues over other days.

It is hard to see “personnel issues” as anything other than a reference to Timothy and Hill.

Theresa May says she will reflect on why Tories lost seats

Updated

May says she intends to 'reflect' on why Tories lost seats

Theresa May has recorded a clip for broadcasters. She was criticised earlier for not acknowledging the fact that the Tories had lost seats in her No 10 statement and now she is adopting a more contrite tone.

She says she is sorry about MPs who lost their seats and will reflect on what happened.

I will post full quotes shortly.

Updated

Theresa May is not expected to reshuffle her government until tomorrow, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports.

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Friends of the Earth has expressed concern that the Democratic Unionists will exercise major national influence over the government even though some of the party’s MPs are climate change sceptics.

The most vociferous doubter of climate change is the DUP’s East Antrim MP, Sammy Wilson. He has described the theory of manmade climate change as a “con”. James Orr, Friends of the Earth’s Northern Ireland director, said:

Their manifesto had hardly a positive word on the environment and nothing at all on climate change. Theresa May must not allow the DUP to further weaken her already inadequate manifesto commitments to maintain environmental protections and preserve nature.

Senior members of the DUP have also even denied the theory of evolution. In 2009, when the Ulster Museum hosted an exhibition marking Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, the DUP’s Mervyn Storey (who later became a minister in the executive) called for “an alternative exhibition” promoting creationism.

Storey’s election literature from the same period included a photograph of him standing on the Giant’s Causeway, the world heritage site with uniquely hexagonal rocks on the Northern Irish coastline that scientists say is 550m years old – far far older than the biblical claim of the Earth’s age.

Updated

There was some pre-election talk about how black and minority ethnic (BME) voters might shed some of their traditional attachment to Labour, with a number perhaps moving to the Conservatives. Well, it seemingly didn’t happen.

According to analysis by the Runnymede Trust race equality thinktank, about two-thirds of BME voters supported Labour, a possible increase for the party from 2015.

The trust has based its analysis on 75 seats, where half of the UK’s BME population lives. It points to the Tories’ loss of the very diverse Croydon Central and Enfield Southgate seats and increased Labour majorities in the likes of Brentford and Isleworth, and Ilford North.

Omar Khan, director of the Runnymede Trust, said:

It would appear that there is a Jeremy Corbyn effect, but also possibly a negative effect due to the Conservative party’s campaign. All previous predictions about how the BME vote is heading to the Conservatives needs to be reassessed in light of this election. Whether it will last is another question.

Updated

Tory deal with DUP could jeopardise peace process, says Blair's former chief of staff

On BBC Radio 4’s The World at One, Jonathan Powell, who as Tony Blair’s chief of staff played a major role in facilitating the Northern Ireland peace process before and after the Good Friday agreement, said it would be a mistake for Theresa May to do a deal with the DUP. He explained:

I do think it’s a mistake to go into government with the “support of our friends” in the DUP. Even John Major avoided doing that and the reason he avoided that is the peace process is based on a balance that the British government has made it clear it is neutral in Northern Ireland, it doesn’t take sides. Once you have their support, you are no longer neutral.

It matters for two big reasons. First, we haven’t managed to get the executive back up and running in Northern Ireland because of divisions between the two sides. The British government were trying to mediate between the two sides to get an administration up and running again and of course now it can’t possibly have that role of mediating.

And secondly I think it’s a mistake because one of the big issues in the Brexit negotiations is the border between north and south. Now the DUP is a minority in its view about Brexit, it’s in favour of Brexit. This is going to be a very real problem.

Whatever you put on a piece of paper, you’re living there with a minority government. That’s dependent on the DUP. You get to a crucial issue and then they say: “Remember what we want in terms of talks in Northern Ireland,” and the government has a choice. Do they say: “We’re not giving you that. We’ll let the government collapse,” or do they just bend a little on that issue – it’s just one small issue, it doesn’t matter? But beyond that, the government can’t possibly be seen as neutral on Northern Ireland now if it puts itself at the mercy of the DUP.

Jonathan Powell.
Jonathan Powell. Photograph: Sky News

Updated

According to ITV’s Robert Peston, it’s all getting a bit Malcolm Tucker in the Conservative party.

The new Tory-Democratic Unionist love-in will make the chances of a deal aimed at restoring power-sharing government in Northern Ireland even more remote, the cross-community Alliance party has warned.

Amid the DUP’s euphoria over becoming the kingmakers (or is it queenmakers?) of Westminster, the Alliance leader Naomi Long said the link-up between Arlene Foster’s party and the Conservatives undermined the neutrality of the next Tory secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

Long, who failed to unseat the DUP MP Gavin Robinson in Belfast East, said:

Theresa May said she could form a government with the support of her “friends and allies” in the DUP, “having enjoyed a strong relationship over many years”. DUP leader Arlene Foster said her party would explore that option.

This arrangement, if it happens, appears to have been made along a very fine margin and I would not be surprised if it struggled to last any length of time.

It has also made the possibility of successful talks more remote – there is now no credibility for the Tory government to be an independent chair, putting the entire process in real danger of collapsing.

The all-party talks are scheduled to restart in Belfast this Monday.

Naomi Long.
Naomi Long. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA

Updated

Steve Baker’s comment about Theresa May requiring a “wider team” (see 3.34pm) was a reference to her reliance on her co-chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who have been accused of restricting access to the prime minister and shielding her from dissenting views.

My colleague Heather Stewart says the pair are not at May’s side at the moment.

Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill leaving Conservative party HQ earlier today.
Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill leaving Conservative party HQ earlier today. Photograph: Rick Findler/PA

Updated

Steve Baker, the Conservative MP and head of the European Research Group, a caucus of Tory backbenchers pushing for a hard Brexit, has just told the BBC that he wants Theresa May to stay as prime minister for the whole of this parliament. He told Andrew Neil:

I am confident that Conservative MPs will focus their minds and back Theresa May ...

Q: For how long?

I think for as long as it takes, and that should mean throughout this whole parliament. We are in a position which is now precarious. The public have chosen to put us where we are and I think that will really focus minds on what it takes to serve our electors.

Asked what May should do to change, Baker said:

One of the things I think we need to do is see a gentler tone and wider team participating in policy.

These are from our colleague Dan Roberts, the Guardian’s Brexit editor.

It was interesting to note that Arlene Foster, the Democratic Unionist leader, eschewed parochial concerns and tried to paint herself and her party as the UK-wide defenders of the union.

In her press conference, Foster said the unity of the UK was her “guiding star.”

Foster emphasised how she and Theresa May could “bring stability” to the entire UK by an arrangement to shore up a Tory government.

Her line echoed that of Nigel Dodds, the DUP North Belfast MP and leader of the party at Westminster. When it became apparent that the DUP would be the kingmakers of this election, Dodds stressed that “we would not be parochial in our concerns” during the negotiations.

All in all, it is an incredible comeback for the DUP after a bruising election in March when the party lost seats in the Stormont assembly contest and Sinn Féin came within just one seat of having the same number of assembly members in the regional parliament.

One election number-cruncher estimated today that on the general election figures, the DUP would pick up an extra five seats if there was a second assembly electoral battle – although whether the electorate of Northern Ireland could stomach a third election in the space of four months is questionable.

Updated

Andrew Reynolds, an academic specialising in LGBTQ politics, says there will be a record number of LGBTQ MPs in the Commons.

The former Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland has posted a commiseration note from his daughters after he lost his Leeds North West seat to Labour.

They blamed Theresa May.

Updated

Pre-election rules on government departments and civil servants remain in force, meaning that key announcements or publications scheduled for next week will have to be postponed.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) has informed universities that the announcements regarding the new Teaching Excellence Framework – which would have ranked universities for teaching and allowed the best performing to raise tuition fees – has been put on hold.

“The Cabinet Office has confirmed that pre-election (‘purdah’) restrictions on public announcements will continue until a new government has been formed,” Hefce said.

Updated

And here is the full text of Arlene Foster’s statement.

Foster says DUP will talk to PM about how the two parties can 'bring stability' to the UK

Here is the key quote from Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, at her press conference. (See 2.29pm.)

In the days and weeks ahead it is the union that will go to the forefront of our minds. The union is our guiding star. We may represent Northern Ireland constituencies in the House of Commons, but we are as seized of the interests of the United Kingdom as a whole as we are for Northern Ireland …

The prime minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge.

Arlene Foster.
Arlene Foster. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA

Updated

Yet more Osborne sniping at May.

Ruth Davidson
Ruth Davidson Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

The Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, has called on Nicola Sturgeon to take a second independence referendum “off the table”, describing the demand as “a massive political miscalculation”.

Speaking at a press conference in Edinburgh she said:

SNP MPs who last night lost their seats have paid the price for what was a massive political miscalculation on Nicola Sturgeon’s part. This morning, we have heard SNP figures acknowledge that the referendum demands were behind its bad result. We have heard the first minister say she will ‘reflect’ on the matter. I’m afraid that’s not enough.

Nobody will condemn the first minister if she now decides to re-set her course. This is her opportunity to do so and I urge her to take it immediately. She must take it off the table.

The SNP was down 21 seats after the general election, while Davidson’s party delivered its best result in Scotland for three decades by winning 13 seats.

Davidson spoke out in support of Theresa May as she seeks to form a government with help from the DUP. But the Scottish Tory leader conceded the prime minister had not been given the mandate she sought.

She added that the UK government must now listen to those who did not vote Tory and should pursue “an open Brexit, not a closed one”.

Updated

DUP press conference

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, is speaking at a press conference now.

She thanks those who supported the party.

Yesterday was “a great result” for the union, not just in Northern Ireland but in the UK too, she says (referring to Scotland.)

She says the union will be at the forefront of the party’s mind as it proceeds in the days ahead.

She says the DUP also wants what is best for the whole of the UK.

Our way of life is under threat from extremists, she says.

She says she spoke to Theresa May this morning.

She will enter into talks with her to consider how they can bring stability to the UK.

  • Foster says she has spoken to Theresa May about starting talks between the DUP and the Conservatives about bringing “stability” to the UK.

So Foster is confirming that talks about a deal will take place. But that is not the same as saying an agreement has been reached.

Updated

British citizens living in Europe have reported problems with their postal votes, with many saying the late arrival of ballot papers has denied them a voice in the general election.

Some said they were particularly angry about losing the opportunity to swing the vote in marginal constituencies.

The British in Europe coalition – a group of 35,000 Britons living and working in Europe that seeks to defend the rights of UK citizens in the EU and EU citizens in the UK – said it had received more than 100 complaints in the past 24 hours.

Some people said that, despite applying in good time, they had not received their ballot papers until 7 June – the day before the election. Others had received nothing at all.

“The general thing is that the postal vote has either turned up late or not come at all,” said Daniel Tetlow, of British in Europe’s German branch.

“They’re really annoyed because some of them haven’t been able to vote in marginal seats where they know they could really have made a difference.”

One Berlin-based British citizen wrote: “I am aggrieved that I haven’t yet received my postal vote despite being assured that I’d receive one on time and my constituency, Croydon Central, is highly marginal.”

Tetlow said the wider issue of guaranteeing expatriate Britons “votes for life” - a policy to which the Conservatives have committed – had yet to be resolved.

At the moment, British citizens lose the right to vote in UK elections if they have been out of the country for more than 15 years.

“When the voting system is already not fit for purpose, how is it going to be upgraded so that all British citizens living abroad can exercise their right to vote?” said Tetlow.

“The electoral infrastructural changes that need to take place are going to be pretty big considering that over this election, basic postal votes within Europe didn’t work well.”

Updated

Labour’s campaign in Wales began with party strategists viewing Jeremy Corbyn as a liability and fearing their worst general election for decades.

It ended in triumph, with Labour winning three seats from the Tories and praise being heaped both on an energetic grassroots campaign and on the Corbyn effect.

Labour fought back strongly and unexpectedly took Cardiff North, traditionally a bellwether seat, with a handsome 4,000 majority from the Tories. It also won back the seats of Gower in the south (the most marginal in the UK) and the Vale of Clwyd in the north, both lost to the Tories in 2015.


This chart illustrates the extent of Labour’s achievement quite effectively. It’s from the Spectator’s Fraser Nelson.

The vote count in Kensington has been suspended until Friday evening after counting staff became “visibly tired” as a third recount of the closely fought west London seat was requested.

The count will recommence at 6pm on Friday, a spokesman for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said. The count was suspended at around 6am after a recount proved inconclusive.

The seat, previously considered a Tory stronghold, will be the last constituency to declare its result.

The BBC and the Huffington Post reported on Friday lunchtime that the Conservatives had conceded the vote, but a representative of Labour candidate Emma Dent Coad told the Guardian the party had heard nothing about it from the returning officer or Tory campaign and expected the recount to go ahead on Friday evening.

The Greens have experienced a bruising election night, with the success of their sole MP, Caroline Lucas, massively increasing her majority offset by a big dip in their overall vote more or less everywhere else.

Lucas, the party’s co-leader, cemented her position in the Brighton Pavilion, a seat she first took in 2010, by almost doubling her majority to nearly 15,000, with 52% of the overall vote.

However, amid a wider squeeze on smaller parties, the Greens took just over 500,000 votes in all, hugely down on the more than 1.1m in 2015.

Paul Oakden, the Ukip chair, is taking over as interim leader following Paul Nuttall’s resignation. In a statement he said:

Ukip’s presence on the political battlefield has just got a lot more critical, as those who want to thwart Brexit use this excuse to try and throw it into reverse. Despite the Lib Dems’ total failure to recover, Nick Clegg losing his seat and his own narrow squeak, Tim Farron is already claiming that Mrs May’s incompetent electioneering somehow overrides the expressed will of the people to leave the EU.

We cannot let this happen. Ukip will now rapidly regroup, choose a new leader and get back on our horse. We will provide the backbone for the full, proper Brexit that the people voted for last year, and which is the only way to protect this country from the impending economic meltdown in Europe, and get back control of our borders – something which is clearly long overdue.

I will be talking to colleagues over the weekend and meeting with the NEC on Monday to ensure that the party is ‘strong and stable’ and ready to support the new leader in the challenging times ahead of us.

Updated

One crucial thing those looking on the politics of Northern Ireland should be aware of is the coherence and unity of the Democratic Unionists.

For a party founded out of Ian Paisley’s Evangelical Christian base in Protestant Ulster the DUP sometimes literally all sings from the same hymn sheet.

So while Theresa May or her eventual successor will have to look over their shoulders at their own backbenchers, particularly those potential malcontents on the hard Brexit spectrum, the minority Tory government can rely on a fairly reliable partner to shore up the administration.

The 10 DUP MPs will act as a solid unit together and will be dragooned to accept leadership policy from the top down.

They will act as one and should not pose any potential rebellions that would de-stabilise their arrangement, which the Guardian reported late on Thursday night would operate on a “confidence and supply” basis.

Updated

The DUP are insisting that they have not yet reached a firm deal with Theresa May about supporting a Conservative minority government, Sky’s Kay Burley reports.

We are due to hear from them at a press conference soon.

George Osborne, the former chancellor, posted this rather cryptic message on Twitter half an hour ago. It could be an acknowledgment that he is finally going to a bed, or a DM that he posted inadvertently. But it is hard not to conclude that it also reflects his true feelings about the fate of the woman who sacked him last summer.

Here’s a selection of Osborne’s latest front pages.

George Osborne puts the boot in with four editions of the Evening Standard
George Osborne puts the boot in with four editions of the Evening Standard Photograph: Associated Newspapers

Updated

Angela Merkel is travelling around South America today, and her spokesperson said that she would not comment on the outcome of the UK elections “out of politeness and respect”.

But some members of her centre-right Christian Democratic party are able to draw positives from Britain’s hung parliament. Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the German parliament’s foreign policy committee, said that a minority government and re-elections in the foreseeable future “may not be such a terrible thing for relations with the EU”.

“The new transitional government is not completely in the hands of the hardliners, their ability to blackmail has been curtailed. Now that the power balance in parliament is unclear, there may be a chance to have an open and rational debate about how to go about Brexit.”

David McAllister, a CDU MEP seen as a close ally of the German chancellor, said: “From the European Union’s standpoint, the election result does not directly impact the negotiations over Brexit. The EU’s position remains strong, and we are therefore more than willing to officially begin negotiations as soon as the UK government is ready.”

Updated

Lunchtime summary

Updated

Rob Wilson
Rob Wilson Photograph: Conservative Party/PA

Rob Wilson, the Conservative culture minister who lost his Reading East seat, said May’s manifesto “put an exocet through the heart of our main supporters” and the party cannot go on being run by such a small group of people.

He told the Guardian: “I lost, I think, for three main reasons. Firstly, the manifesto was perceived by the public as awful. The social care policy cut through within 24 hours and was received very badly.

“Secondly, it allowed Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign to get legs and gave them real momentum. It really galvanised their support particularly among young people. In my constituency there were massive numbers of university students. The third thing was we put an exocet straight through the heart of our main supporters, older people.

“The party cannot have a situation whereby things are done within such a small group of people because there were too many huge mistakes – the manifesto was a huge mistake in the way it was presented. There always needs to be proper testing of ideas before they are launched.”

Updated

The Guardian has launched a Facebook live stream from Westminster with Anushka Asthana. “What now?” it asks.

What Now?

Updated

Sanders congratulates Corbyn

The US leftist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has congratulated Jeremy Corbyn on the campaign.

In a Facebook post, the US senator said the result was a protest against inequality.

I am delighted to see Labour do so well. All over the world, people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality.

People in the UK the US and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the 1%. I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very effective campaign.

Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn
Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn Composite: Sean Simmers/PennLive.com via AP/Matt Cardy/Getty Images/AP/Getty

Updated

The European council president, Donald Tusk, has congratulated Theresa May on forming a government and urged her to get on with the Brexit negotiations.

In a letter, he said:

On behalf of the European council, I would like to congratulate you on your reappointment as prime minister.

Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019. The timeframe set by article 50 of the treaty leaves us with no time to lose. I am fully committed to maintaining regular and close contact at our level to facilitate the work of our negotiators.

I also look forward to welcoming you to the European council later this month where we will discuss counter-terrorism, security and defence, trade and the Paris agreement amongst other issues.

Updated

A number of “staggering” Conservative losses have been blamed on the long-running dispute on Southern rail over staffing and the role of conductors, PA reports.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers have suffered over a year of travel misery because of strikes and other problems such as staff shortages.

The Conservatives lost seats in Croydon, Eastbourne and Brighton, while a number of others have become marginals, including Hastings, where the homesecretary, Amber Rudd, came close to defeat.

Mick Cash, the RMT general secretary, said:

These results prove that the toxic Southern rail franchise was a game changer in key seats along the routes served. RMT is demanding that the axing of the guards is reversed and the union will harass Theresa May and the transport ministers in her minority government every step of the way as we step up the fight to put safety and access to services before private profit and greed.”

Emily Yates, the co-founder of the Association of British Commuters, said: “Once again, we see the public in the south reject the narrative that Southern rail and the government have been pushing over a whole year of commuter suffering.”

She said passengers knew before the election that the Department for Transport was holding back a report by Chris Gibb analysing the causes of the Southern rail crisis, for nearly six months.

Updated

George Osborne continues to use the editorship of the Evening Standard to gun for Theresa May.

The paper’s latest front page calls her the “Queen of Denial”. The paper’s editorial says she is holding office without power (see earlier).

Updated

Most diverse parliament

There will be a record 51 ethnic minority MPs in the new House of Commons, according to the integration thinktank British Future.

Of the 51 non-white MPs in the new 2017 parliament, 31 will sit on the Labour benches out of a total of 261 Labour MPs (11%), while 19 are Conservatives, out of 315 (6%). The Liberal Democrats will have one ethnic minority MP out of 12 MPs (8%).

Sunder Katwala, the director of British Future, said:

“The 2017 parliament will be the most diverse ever, with 10 new ethnic minority MPs taking the total of non-white parliamentarians to 51. Thirty years on, that tells a positive story about integration since the breakthrough election of 1987.

The full list of ethnic minority MPs is:

Labour

Tulip Siddiq, Rupa Huq, Dawn Butler, Diane Abbott, David Lammy, Mark Hendrick, Virendra Sharma, Rushanara Ali, Shabana Mahmood, Lisa Nandy, Chuka Ummuna, Chi Onwurah, Yasmin Qureshi, Keith Vaz, Khalid Mahmood, Seema Malhotra, Kate Osamor, Naz Shah, Valerie Vaz, Clive Lewis, Imran Hussain, Thangnam Debbonaire, Rosena Allin-Khan, Eleanor Smith, Preet Gill, Tan Dhesi , Mohammad Yasin, Marsha de Cordova, Fiona Onasanya, Faisal Rashid and Bambos Charalambous.

Conservative

Adam Afriyie, Shailesh Vara, Nadhim Zahawi, Sam Gyimah, Priti Patel, Sajid Javid, Kwasi Kwarteng, Helen Grant, Rehman Chishti, Ranil Jayawardena, Nusrat Ghani, Suella Fernandes, Rishi Sunak, James Cleverly, Alan Mak, Alok Sharma, Seema Kennedy, Kemi Badenoch and Bim Afolami.

Lib Dem

Layla Moran.

Preet Gill, Britain's first ever female Sikh MP, won for Labour in Birmingham Edgbaston
Preet Gill Photograph: Sikh Federation

Updated

Nicola Sturgeon has signalled she may drop her plans for a new Scottish independence referendum after admitting the issue was a key factor in her party’s shock loss of 21 Westminster seats.

In a statement at Bute House, the first minister said she needed more time to reflect on the consequences of the election, which saw the party’s deputy leader, Angus Robertson, defeated by the Tories, before deciding whether to press on with her quest for a referendum soon after Brexit.

Tory, Labour and Lib Dem leaders in Scotland unanimously called on Sturgeon to drop her plans for that referendum, which she had originally wanted held by spring 2019 but has since accepted may not now be held until 2020 or 2021.

Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, whose party won an unexpected seven Westminster seats, including Gordon Brown’s old seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, said it was imperative the first minister focused entirely on domestic policies.

“This was a catastrophic result [for the SNP] and is the final nail in the coffin for Nicola Sturgeon’s plans for a divisive second independence referendum. She must now immediately abandon that plan and get back to the day job of running our schools and hospitals,” Dugdale said.

But in a clear hint she plans to do so, Sturgeon repeatedly stressed that she believed the hung parliament and instability that could entail put her under an obligation to seek consensus with other parties at Westminster.

She said the Scottish National party, which now has 35 Westminster seats, would seek to build a progressive alliance with Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party to lock Theresa May out of office.

The SNP “would play its part in finding the right way forward for the whole of the UK,” she said, and would open talks about agreeing some form of progressive coalition at Westminster. “It is needed more than ever,” she said.

“Undoubtedly the issue of an independence referendum was a factor in this election result, but I think there were other factors as well,” she said, citing Brexit as another key issue.

“I said I’m going to reflect carefully on the result and going to take some time to do that,” she added. “I have now gone 36 hours without sleep and I don’t think those are the conditions to rush to judgments or decisions.”

In a clear hint she is anxious to win over anti-independence voters who helped deliver a series of stinging defeats on Thursday, Sturgeon added that she was obliged as first minister to govern for the whole of Scotland.

There was “a desire to bring people together and find a way forward that was rooted in consensus. I recognise my responsibilities as first minister to play my part in that and for that to be very much in the forefront of my mind.”

Sturgeon said she was devastated by the defeats of both Robertson and Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader and first minister who had been her mentor for more than 30 years. Salmond was “without a shadow of a doubt a giant of modern Scottish politics, someone who had devoted his life to serving this country,” she said.

Updated

Peter Robinson
Former DUP leader Peter Robinson. Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images

Democratic Unionist sources have told the Guardian that one possible sweetener for the party from Theresa May and the Tories is the possible elevation of Peter Robinson to the House of Lords.

The former DUP leader and former first minister of Northern Ireland came out of retirement to help his old party rebuild after last March’s assembly election losses.

Robinson was seen among prominent DUP negotiators such as Nigel Dodds (the party’s leader at Westminster) at the Belfast count early on Friday.

Party sources say Robinson will be seen as an asset at Westminster as the DUP maps out it strategy to shore up a Conservative government with the narrowest of leads.

Updated

Award for celebration of the night goes to Labour’s Clive Lewis in Norwich South.

The BBC is rowing back on its report that Labour has won Kensington as another recount is due to take place this evening.

Paul Waugh, of the Huffington Post, claims the Conservatives have written off the seat.

May's statement in full

Here’s May statement in full (note her use of the phrase Conservative and Unionist party and the number of times she uses the word certainty).

I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen, and I will now form a government – a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country.

This government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union. It will work to keep our nation safe and secure by delivering the change that I set out following the appalling attacks in Manchester and London – cracking down on the ideology of Islamist extremism and all those who support it. And giving the police and the authorities the powers they need to keep our country safe.

The government I lead will put fairness and opportunity at the heart of everything we do, so that we fulfil the promise of Brexit together and – over the next five years – build a country in which no one and no community is left behind. A country in which prosperity and opportunity are shared right across this United Kingdom.

What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the general election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons. As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist party in particular.

Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom.

This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful Brexit deal that works for everyone in this country – securing a new partnership with the EU which guarantees our long-term prosperity. That’s what people voted for last June. That’s what we will deliver. Now let’s get to work.

Updated

Labour is reported to have taken Kensington, the last seat to declare, after several recounts. It means the final tally has the Conservatives on 318 seats and Labour on 262 seats.

Updated

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May: 'Now let's get to work'

May says she will form a government that will provide certainty. She reaffirms her commitment to leaving the European Union.

She pledges to build a country in which no one is left behind.

What the country needs more than anything is certainty. Only the Conservative and Unionist party can provide this, she says.

“Now let’s get to work,” she says.

Updated

Theresa May has left Buckingham Palace after spending about 15 minutes with the Queen (shorter than usual).

She is due to give a statement in Downing Street soon.

Theresa May leaves Downing Street with her husband on the way to Buckingham Palace
Theresa May leaves Downing Street with her husband on the way to Buckingham Palace Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Ukip’s faltering national campaign was summed up in Hartlepool, where its vote share plummeted from 28% in 2015 to 11.5% on Thursday. The coastal town had been the party’s No 3 target seat, having come within 3,024 votes of winning Hartlepool two years ago, but Ukip failed to convince voters it remained a relevant force for change post-Brexit.

Ukip’s campaign in Hartlepool was dominated by a negative “Vote Tory, get Corbyn” message and local party in-fighting meant its candidate, former amateur wrestler Phil Broughton, fought the campaign almost single-handedly. He also suffered from a lack of support from Ukip leadership, with the only high-profile visit overshadowed by two women fighting outside a pub when Nuttall visited Hartlepool two months ago.

Many of the party’s 11,000 voters from two years ago were thought to have moved to the Tories, whose vote share leapt from 21% to 34% but enough Ukippers reverted back to old loyalties to help Labour on its way to victory. That, combined with an anecdotally-reported increase in turnout among the young, helped Labour double its majority in the town it has held for 53 years.

Ukip’s leader Paul Nuttall and its general secretary Jonathan Arnott have resigned. In his resignation statement, Arnott said he did not support Ukip hardline anti-Muslim rhetoric.

He said:

I do not personally support a complete burkha ban. The policy of genital inspections of schoolgirls was crass and ill-conceived at best. FGM is an issue which is fundamentally about child sexual abuse, but UKIP’s clumsy blundering approach detracted from an important issue of child protection.

I don’t agree with hardline anti-Islam messages. Yet in the wake of the London and Manchester attacks, it was a ‘perfect storm’ for those who espoused such views. If it was ever going to win votes at the ballot box, it was on Thursday. It failed. It did not work and it can not work. I’ve expressed my views in private to the Party leadership and others over many months, to no avail. I must now say something in public. I will try to avoid naming individuals, but promote positive alternatives and policies for the Party.

The people pushing such an agenda need to reflect on the Party’s future. They need to stop making it difficult – impossible, even – for many people to vote UKIP.

It would be improper for the General Secretary of the Party to be as blunt as I need to be, or even to say what I have said in this statement. My position is therefore untenable and I must therefore resign as General Secretary and Constitutional Affairs spokesman. I have agreed with the Party that this will not take effect until after the emergency NEC meeting on Monday.

Tim Farron said Brexit talks were “about to get very real” and warned the “consequences will be felt by every single person in this country”, PA reports.

The dire result for the Conservatives showed Theresa May’s “extreme version” of Brexit had been rejected by the British people, he said. Farron added:

“It is simply inconceivable that the prime minister can begin the Brexit negotiations in just two weeks’ time. She should consider her future - and then, for once, she should consider the future of our country.

“The negotiations should be put on hold until the Government has reassessed its priorities and set them out to the British public. The British people have a right to expect that our Prime Minister will explain to them what it is that she seeks to achieve.”

“The referendum showed us to be a dangerously divided country. This election has highlighted those divisions in Technicolor: young against old, rich against poor, north against south, urban against rural.

“If we are to have any chance at healing, at coming together, we must ask ourselves some tough questions.”

Leo Varadkjar
Leo Varadkar Photograph: ddp USA/Rex/Shutterstock

Ireland’s prime minister in waiting, Leo Varadkar, has claimed the indecisive outcome of the UK election shows that there is no strong mandate in Britain for a hard Brexit.

Just a few days before Varadkar is almost certain to be elected taoiseach in the Dáil, the Irish parliament, the recently elected Fine Gael leader said the results in the UK meant that “Brexit talks are handled in a smooth and coherent manner to secure the best possible outcome for Ireland, for Europe and the UK.”

Before becoming taoiseach this Wednesday Vradkar says his top priority beyond the Brexit negotiations is to see a restoration of power sharing government in Northern Ireland.

Talks were scheduled to restart aimed at bringing back the cross community administration in Belfast this Monday. However, given the horse trading that will take place between the Tories and the Democratic Unionists this weekend it is unclear if the discussions will resume at the very start of next week.

Updated

Delay in second Scottish independence referendum

In her Bute House statement, the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, signalled a delay in her plans for a second independence referendum.

“Undoubtedly the issue of an independence referendum was a factor in this election result, but I think there were other factors in this election result as well,” she said.

She also said: “The prime minister has lost all authority and credibility.”

Updated

Conservative MPs are very, very angry at what they see as a totally avoidable loss of their majority.

Even if it is tenable for May to stick around for now, a leadership race for the medium term has in effect already kicked off. And demands are being made for the prime minister to sack her two chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy.


Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative MP for Totnes who headed the Commons health committee, said that the inner circle of advisers would have to go and and hit out at the complete lack of consultation over May’s social care shakeup that was branded a “dementia tax”. She told the Guardian:

“For me, there were two things that started it: fox hunting and the social care package. That was the turning point in my area, where you could see an extraordinary shift from overwhelming support to incomprehension about the policies. You had a very tight-knit group who wrote the manifesto and didn’t consult with colleagues with experience and expertise. It was drafted by a very small group who didn’t show it to anyone and I could certainly have told them the social care would have bombed having been on the care bill committee and done the job in practice. People need to listen to voices within the party. But there were many things that went wrong, including the personal US attack dog-style politics and people ended up feeling sorry for Jeremy Corbyn.”


On May’s future she said:

“I do think she should stay on but I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up having another election soon and people will be absolutely appalled by it … I can’t see the advisers staying. I think they should go. There have been some very serious errors in the campaign and I think those who were most closely involved in advising need to consider their positions.”


Another Tory MP said: “This will force a very, very big change in the way CCHQ and No 10 are run. you can run the Home Office with a small, tight, ultra loyal team. You cannot run government like that. You cannot have two spads signing off every speech. I think the big thing that will happen is that MPs will say this change has got to happen
and we’re not asking your permission, we are just going to do it. We
ran a campaign under the old rules and it failed.”

Updated

May visits the Palace

May is on her way from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace. She left Number 10 with her husband Phillip. She was asked “is this strong and stable government”? She didn’t answer.

Theresa May is about to make the short journey from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to request the Queen’s permission to form a government.

The reckless pursuit of a hard Brexit must be stopped, Sturgeon says. She urges other parties to come together to bring order to the Brexit negotiations.

Sturgeon pledges to work with other parties to keep Tories out

Nicola Sturgeon is making a statement at Bute House, in Edinburgh.

She acknowledges bitterly disappointing losses. She singles out Angus Robertson and Alex Salmond. She describes Salmond as a giant of Scottish politics.

We will reflect on these results and listen to voters, Sturgeon says.

Sturgeon pledges to work with others to keep the Tories out of government. We stand ready to play our part in that alliance. She accuses the Tories of causing chaos on an industrial scale.

Updated

Farron accuses Theresa May of trying to form her own coalition of chaos, criticising her for reaching out to the right.

He urged May to resign and said she had gambled Britain’s future based on arrogance and vanity. There will be no deal with the Conservatives, Farron insists.

May’s extreme version of Brexit has been rejected by the British people, he says.

It is inconceivable for Brexit negotiations to begin in two weeks. They should be delayed.

Updated

Farron is up first after the Liberal Democrats only managed to secure 12 seats, up from eight in 2015.

This was the hardest of elections marred by those two terrorist attacks, Farron said.

The Lib Dems have made progress in incredibly difficult circumstances, he says. He says he is delighted to welcome back old friends.

Farron paid tribute to former leader Nick Clegg, who lost his Sheffield seat. Listing Clegg’s achievement would take hours, Farron said. “History will be kind to Nick,” he said.

Updated

Two party leaders are expected to make statements in the next few minutes. Nicola Sturgeon is going to make a statement at Bute House, in Edinburgh. And in London at the LibDems headquarter, party leader Tim Farron is about to address the media.

Both parties did worse than they had hoped.

Nicky Morgan
Nicky Morgan Photograph: Antonio Olmos for the Observer

The former education secretary, Nicky Morgan, has called on the Conservatives to look for new leadership in the long run.

Morgan, who has made no secret of the fact that she’s no fan of Theresa May, says it’s right for the prime minister to stay on and seek to form a government. But she can’t fight another election and should take responsibility for the Conservatives’ flawed campaign, Morgan said.

She told me: “I’m reeling. I think we’re all reeling. I think there’s real fury against the campaign and the buck stops at the top.

“I think she should stay for now, but I think she won’t fight another election – and I think eventually, whether it takes weeks or months, we will have to look at the leadership.”

Updated

The European commission chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, has urged Britain not to delay the start of Brexit talks.

“As far as the commission is concerned we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half past nine,” Juncker told reporters in Prague.

“So we are waiting for visitors coming from London. I hope that we will not experience a further delay in the conclusion of this negotiations.”

The EU and Britain face a tight two-year timeline to conclude the divorce after May triggered the start of the process on 29 March.

Juncker said he hoped the election result would have “no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for”.

The former Luxembourg prime minister also poured cold water on talk of extending the two-year negotiation process.

“Before raising the question of prolonging the negotiations with our British friends, they must begin. I want them to begin,” Juncker said.

Updated

There’s been a massive spike in interest in the DUP in the last few hours.

Spike in interest in the DUP

Senior DUP figures claim they moved quickly to form a coalition to stop any chance of Jeremy Corbyn from entering No 10 because of his and John McDonnell’s ties to Sinn Féin and the IRA.

A DUP source said:

“The two parties have worked well together for two years.There’s no reason to suppose they won’t continue to do so in future.

“But the point made time after time to Labour MPs remains: for as long as you allow yourselves to be led by an IRA cheerleader, you exclude yourselves from entering No 10.”

Updated

Neil Carmichael
Neil Carmichael Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

Neil Carmichael, the former Tory MP for Stroud, who was defeated last night tells me that he felt there was a “soft-Brexit vote against me”.

He says the Conservative election message sounded like a hard Brexit to people and that had to urgently change.

Asked if May ought to continue as prime minister, he replied: “At the moment I do because I can’t see how further turbulence will help, but we need to have a rethink about how they package it and formulate [Brexit] – to something recognising that we are going to leave the EU but making sure the process does not prevent us having good relationships with the EU.”

He said he was very disappointed to have lost but would keep fighting for a cross-party campaign towards a close relationship with the EU.

“[May] needs to have a very thorough examination of how the government as a whole approaches Brexit to capture those who want to leave but also those who want a relationship with the EU in some other form.”

He also hit out at the negative aspects of the Tory campaign, saying: “There wasn’t a sense of a positive vision.”

Updated

With one result to go here’s a reminder of the new political map.

The New European has a striking front page.

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John Swinney
John Swinney Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian

John Swinney, Scotland’s deputy first minister and a former Scottish National party leader, has suggested Nicola Sturgeon may need to hold off on her quest for a second vote on independence after the SNP suffered crushing losses in the general election.

Although the SNP won a majority of Scotland’s 59 Westminster seats, holding 35 seats, it endured humiliating losses including Alex Salmond, the former first minister, and his close ally Angus Robertson, the party’s deputy leader, as 21 seats fell to three pro-UK
parties.

It also experienced a 13% drop in its share of the popular vote, down to 37%, while the Conservatives climbed 14% to 29% and Labour up 4% to 27%.

Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland that Sturgeon’s quest for a second referendum was a “significant motivator” in those defeats, and in the heavy cuts in the majorities of surviving SNP MPs.
Swinney said the SNP would “have to be attentive to that”, implying that Sturgeon must consider drawing back from her demands for a new independence vote soon after Brexit.
Other senior SNP figures disagree, arguing Sturgeon had won a clear mandate for one in last year’s Holyrood election and in a Scottish parliament vote in March. Support for independence still sits as high as 47% they argue, although other polls suggest it is slipping down to 43%.

Updated

Ukip general secretary to resign

Ukip’s general secretary, Jonathan Arnott, is to resign over the weekend after the party’s disastrous performance in the general election, the Guardian understands.

Arnott, the Ukip MEP for the north-east of England, is understood to be unhappy that the party “victimised and demonised” Muslims in its rebranded integration policy.

He personally disagreed with Ukip’s burqa ban policy and thought other policies on female genital mutilation were “crass and ill-conceived” and delivered in a way that was “clumsy and blundering”.

His departure from the role of general secretary follows the resignation of the party leader, Paul Nuttall.

Arnott is to resign after the party’s national executive committee meeting on Monday but is expected to announce his decision in the next two days.

Updated

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, chair of the health select committee in the last parliament, has called for Theresa May’s advisers to resign after “such a negative campaign”.

Gina Miller
Gina Miller Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

Pro-EU campaigner, Gina Miller, has welcomed the result as rejection of hard Brexit.

Speaking to the BBC, she said: “The people have spoken loud and clear and they have said we do not want an extreme Brexit, we do not want one that leaves the single market. It was in the Conservative manifesto and that’s what they have voted against.”

The Best for Britain Campaign founder added: “We may end up with a parliament that votes issue by issue. And when it come to Brexit we will go into this negotiation with a far more flexible approach.”

Greece’s leftist-led government is enthusiastically applauding Theresa May’s “very big defeat” as a victory over the politics of austerity.

Calling it a personal vindication for Jeremy Corbyn and his party’s leftwing turn, the Greek government spokesman said the election result highlighted the huge and growing global challenge to austerity.

“This trend of doubting the politics of harsh austerity is now being consolidated worldwide,” said Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, who represents the ruling Syriza party which has long had close ties with Corbyn.

“We saw it in the USA with Bernie Sanders … we saw it in Europe, primarily in Europe’s south, initially with Syriza, then in Portugal and Spain … and France with [Jean-Luc] Melenchon.”

The big question, he added, was what force would gain the upper hand in expressing the trend – the far right or the left.

“A trend is being formed that will begin to influence political developments much more decisively … what is sure is that, after these years of austerity … the world will change. The question is in which way and the elections in Britain show it is in the right direction.”

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There’s no word as yet on the UK election from the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, but the two biggest opposition parties have congratulated Jeremy Corbyn on Labour’s result.

“Congratulations to Jeremy Corbyn and Labour,” wrote Pedro Sánchez, leader of the Spanish Socialist party. “A great campaign and an excellent result. The British people deserve a government that looks after the majority.”

Pablo Iglesias, leader of the anti-austerity Podemos party, tweeted: “Congratulations Jeremy Corbyn and Labour on a magnificent result. You shall find us by your side to defeat austerity & xenophobia across Europe.”

Paul Nuttall
Paul Nuttall Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

In his resignation statement, Nuttall said: “I am standing down today as the leader of Ukip with immediate effect. This will allow the party to have a new leader in place by the conference in September.

“The new rebranded Ukip must be launched and a new era must begin with a new leader.

“I never envisaged that I would lead the party into three byelections and a general election in the space of six hectic months. I wanted at least a year of calm to rebrand and rebuild the party’s structures.”

Nuttall’s resignation paves the way for the third Ukip leadership contest in a year.

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Nuttall claims Ukip could be more popular than it has ever been in 18 months, but not with him as leader. “A new era must begin with a new leader,” he said.

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Paul Nuttall resigns as leader of Ukip

The Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, has quit after his party failed to win single seat.

He said the election had put Brexit at risk.

Updated

There has been no decision as yet whether there will be a formal coalition between the Tories and the DUP or if they will operate on a “confidence and supply” arrangement – where the Unionists would support a minority government on vital matters in return for some of their policies being enacted.

“There is no absolute majority, so no danger from the combined opposition,” a source said.

Updated

George Osborne’s Evening Standard says May holds office without power. In an editorial the former chancellor’s paper says:

We now have a minority Conservative government that is in office but not in power. Its majority depends on the caprice of 10 Democratic Unionists in Northern Ireland. The DUP does not support some central tenets of the government’s economic and welfare plans. In this topsy-turvy world, the decisions that affect London will now be taken in Belfast. That is not a sustainable position; this paper will subject it to intense scrutiny, starting today.

It also calls for a rethink on Brexit.

Two years ago, the UK stood out as a beacon of political stability and economic success. Two years on from that, voters have both effectively ejected the country from the EU and now given us a Commons that is all but incapable of agreeing a plan to negotiate our exit. That’s a huge challenge. It does, however, offer an opportunity to rethink the hard Brexit that Mrs May intended. At last year’s referendum, voters were only asked one question: should we remain in or leave the European Union? We can respect that outcome without cutting our ties to the single market or leaving the customs union. Out of the chaos of last night, some sanity might emerge.

Updated

Berlin, having only just come to terms with the reality of Brexit, seems more confused than delighted by the UK result this morning.

So far, the initial reaction coming from the relevant ministries is that Britain needs to stick to the Brexit timetable it set itself.

“The clock is ticking, irrespective of who will form the British government”, said the German minister of state for Europe, Michael Roth, on German radio this morning.

Others will spy an opportunity to soften the Brexit blow. The Europe spokesperson of the German Social Democrats said this morning that the British vote was “a clear rejection of a hard Brexit”.

Norbert Spinrath added: “If the Conservatives want to meet their promise of working for the whole country, under whoever’s leadership that may be, they have to listen to the people’s desire to stay as close to the EU as possible. The EU-27 are prepared to do the same, as long as the basic principles and integrity of the single market are respected.”

Updated

May strikes deal with DUP

Theresa May has struck a deal with the Democratic Unionists that will allow her to form a government, sources have confirmed.

The prime minister is expected to see the Queen at 1230pm to confirm that a deal is in place.

It follows extensive talks with the DUP late into the night. Party figures say they have been driven on this morning by their dismay at the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister.

DUP figures insist that their relationship with May’s team has been close since she became prime minister 11 months ago.

A DUP source said: “We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable.

“For as long as Corbyn leads Labour, we will ensure there’s a Tory PM.”

Updated

Theresa May will go to the palace at 12.30pm believing she can form a government.

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