Not Anarchy, But A Political Earthquake Rocks The U.K.-- Hung Parliament

There are 650 seats in the Lower House of Parliament, meaning a party needs to win 326 to form a majority government. When Theresa May-- believing her own and the Establishment's anti-Corbyn hype-- called a snap election on April 18, her party controlled 330 seats to just 232 for Labour. The SNP held 56 seats (out of a total of 59 seats in Scotland) and the Liberal Dems held 9. There was no election required until May of 2020 but May convinced herself the Conservatives could pick up a couple of dozen seats. Her gamble didn't pay off. And her party is in jeopardy of losing power while she will almost certainly lose her role as party leader, soon if not immediately.

At this moment the Conservatives have lost two cabinet members and, so far a net of 13 seats. Labour is up 31 seats, Lib-Dems are up by 4 and the SNP has lost a net of 18 seats, both Labour and the Conservatives benefiting in Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister claimed the SNP "won the election in Scotland," but her deputy lost his Parliamentary seat, as did former party leader Alex Salmond. She called the election "a disaster" for Theresa May, and said she hopes the SNP can work with Corbyn to form a progressive alliance. The total vote count right now is Conservatives 11,009,108 (41.59%), Labour 10,719,321 (40.50%) and Lib Dems 1,820,022 (6.88%).

UKIP, the fascist party that has forced the Conservatives to move too far right, were wiped out entirely. It looks like they will have no seats in Parliament at all. Their leader, Paul Nuttall came in a very distant third in Boston and Skegness, the country's #1 pro-Brexit constituency. They've taken 503,428 votes (1.90%).

The most current BBC forecast predicted 318 Tory seats, so not enough to re-form a government unless the Unionists for a coalition with them. The Unionists appear to be on track to win 10 seats. Labour in this forecast would have 267 seats (an increase of 35 seats), with 32 for SNP, 11 for the Lib Dems. Sinn Féin (which boyotts Parliament and won't join a Corbyn coalition) looks like it will win 7 seats and there are 6 scattered. If this holds solid, a Conservative-Unionist coalition looks like the most likely government, but a very weak one. We'll pick up this thread in the morning when the votes are all counted.


UPDATE: The Morning After

It is a hung Parliament. The Conservatives lost a net of 13 seats and no longer command a majority, although Theresa May says she will form a coalition government. Many Conservative leaders want her to step away from leadership, blaming her for a "dreadful campaign." Labour gained at least 30 seats, perhaps 31. Last month May had written in the Daily Mail that "The cold, hard fact is that if I lose just six seats, I will lose this election, and Jeremy Corbyn will be sitting down to negotiate with the presidents, prime ministers and chancellors of Europe." Now she says she will form a government with Northern Ireland's right-wing Unionists, who are anti-LGBT and anti-Choice (and pro-Brexit).