Sky News exit poll results puts David Cameron's Conservative party ahead, just shying away form an absolute majority, in Britain's closest general election for decades
Nationalists triumph in Scotland, set stage for possible new independence voteScottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon on Friday held out the possibility of a new independence referendum - but not immediately - after her party's crushing victory north of the border in a British national election.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) obliterated its opponents, taking 56 of Scotland's 59 seats in the Westminster parliament. The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats could muster only one seat each.
(Leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon reacts to results at the Glasgow election count at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on May 8.)
He said there were two broad possible explanations: a strong last-minute swing to the Conservatives, or polling problems.
"There is a track record here. The truth is that at most though not all recent elections, the polls have tended to underestimate the Conservatives and overestimate Labour."
Some pollsters admitted something had gone badly wrong, and they did not yet understand what.
"Election results raise serious issues for all pollsters," said Populus, one of the main polling firms, on Twitter.
Others, such as Survation, ComRes and Ipsos MORI, defended themselves, saying they had been right about the Scottish National Party's surge, the collapse of the Liberal Democrats and a sharp increase in vote share for anti-EU party UKIP.
Andrew Hawkins, chairman of ComRes, said this fragmentation of the political landscape had presented pollsters with "extra headaches" by turning the election into a "patchwork of regional contests" where national trends were less relevant.
The polls had converged to suggest the Conservatives and Labour were tied or within a point or two of each other on about 32 or 33 percent of the vote share apiece. In fact, the Conservatives won about 37 percent to around 31 for Labour.
Such was the disbelief when the exit poll of people who had actually voted came out on Thursday night that Paddy Ashdown, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats, vowed to "publicly eat my hat" on live television if it turned out to be right.
Ashdown will now struggle to live down the comment as the Lib Dems suffered even heavier losses than the exit poll predicted. "Paddy Ashdown's hat" acquired its own Twitter account and jokes have been flourishing online.
John Curtice, a prominent elections expert and president of the British Polling Council, said it would launch an inquiry into what had gone wrong, led by an independent statistician.
Britain's voters have delivered a painful blow not just to the Labour Party but also to the opinion pollsters, who had suggested a very different outcome to Thursday's election.
With votes counted in all 650 constituencies, the Conservatives had won an overall majority of 331 seats in the House of Commons with Labour doomed to languish on the opposition benches with 232 seats.
The result came as a complete shock following months of polls which showed the two big parties running neck-and-neck with neither close to winning an overall majority.
"There's only one opinion poll that counts and that's the one on election day and I'm not sure that's ever been truer than it is today," Prime Minister David Cameron said after winning his own seat, Witney.
British pollsters seek answers after getting election badly wrong.
US President Barack Obama congratulates Prime Minister David Cameron on election win.
"I look forward to continuing to strengthen the bonds between our countries, as we work together on behalf of global peace, security and prosperity," Barack Obama said in a written statement.
File Photo: US President Barack Obama, right, walks with British Prime Minister David Cameron (AP Photo)
Three party leaders Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg & Nigel Farage all resign within an hour.
(Left to right: Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage)
Sweeping Win for David Cameron in BritainPrime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative Party won a surprisingly solid victory in the British general election Thursday, with projections and partial results Friday morning showing that the party will at a minimum come close to winning an overall majority in Parliament.
"Britain needs a strong Labour party. Britain needs a Labour party that can rebuild after this defeat so we can have a government that stands up for working people again," Miliband told a party meeting.
"And now it's time for someone else to take forward the leadership of this party, so I'm tendering my resignation, taking effect after this afternoon's commemoration of VE day ..."
He said the party's deputy leader Harriet Harman would take over until a new leader is elected.
Britain's Ed Miliband quit as Labour leader on Friday after his opposition party was decisively beaten at the polls by Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives.
Labour, which had gone into the election expecting to challenge for power, was instead soundly beaten by the Conservative Party, which is now set to govern on its own with an outright parliamentary majority.
This is a country with unrivaled skills, together we can make Great Britain greater still. When I stood here 5 yrs ago our country was in grip of an economic crisis: David Cameron
(File Photo of David Cameron)
No matter where you are from you have an opportunity to make the most of it: David Cameron
I've always believed in governing with respect. That is why we devolved power in Scotland, in this parliament we will implement devolution for Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland: David Cameron
Ed Milliband rang me this morning to wish me luck. The government I led did important work, it laid foundations for a better future: David Cameron
We can make Britain a place where a good life is in reach for everyone: David Cameron
3 million apprenticeships, helping 30 million cope with cost of living, creating millions of more jobs, and yes, we will deliver in our referendum on future in Europe: David Cameron
We must ensure we bring our country together: David Cameron
David Cameron speaks after his party (Conservatives) win the 2015 UK General Elections.
David Cameron-led Conservative Party gain overall majority in the 2015 UK General Elections.
Three party leaders Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg & Nigel Farage all resign within an hour.
I will never give up fighting for the Britain I believe in, that cause will always be my cause. This is my faith.. where we see injustice we must tackle it. The course of progress and social justice is never simple: Ed Miliband
(Photo Courtesy: Sky News)
We've come back before and this party will come back again... (to my party) It will be a force for progress and change, I've done my best for nearly five years: Ed Miliband
I want to address those who voted for the Labour Party. The argument of our campaign will not go away. Thank you to the British people, who met me in schools, workplaces; It has been an enormous privilege: Ed Miliband
The Labor Party can be rebuild after this defeat. This is the challenge of our time; whoever is our leader, Labour will keep making the case for a government that works for people: Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband resigns as Labour Party leader after defeat in UK elections.
I take responsibility for the result: Labour Party's Ed Miliband
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates David Cameron for his party's (Conservatives) win in the 2015 general elections in the United Kingdom.
British PM David Cameron re-elected as MP for Witney.
Labour Leader Ed Miliband Retains Doncaster North Parliamentary Seat
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg Re-Elected as Sheffield Hallam MP, Reports BBC
London Mayor and Conservative leader Boris Johnson elected MP for Uxbridge & South Ruislip, Reports BBC
Sky News Exit Polls put David Cameron's Conservative Party in lead. Here are the projections:
Conservative Party: 316
Labour Party: 239
Liberal Democrats: 10
Scottish National Party: 58
UK Independence Party: 2
Others: 25
Bridget Phillipson of the Labour Party wins Sunderland South seat.
A crucial difference to Cameron is that Miliband opposes holding a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, something the Conservative leader has promised by 2017 if he is re-elected.
Accused by opponents of leading a party with little economic credibility, Miliband has said he would continue cuts to bring down Britain's deficit, but on a gentler scale than the Conservatives.
A 45-year-old father of two married to environmental lawyer Justine Thornton, Miliband has put living standards at the heart of his election campaign, insisting that an economic upturn under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has not reached ordinary people.
"If this is a contest to see how someone can eat a bacon sandwich elegantly, I'm not going to win," Miliband quipped during the campaign.
Miliband's awkwardness was summed up in a photograph of him unattractively eating a bacon sandwich -- an image much reproduced in Britain's right-wing press.
His party has consistently appeared deadlocked in polls against the main competition: the centre-right Conservative party of Prime Minister David Cameron, long seen as the slicker political operator.
Written off as a political insider lacking charisma, the leader of the centre-left Labour party Ed Miliband has confounded expectations to put up a tough fight to become Britain's next prime minister.
Some experts attribute the Conservatives' inability to narrow the poll gap in the polls to Cameron's failure to complete the overhaul of the Conservatives' "nasty" image.
He was also facing an opponent, Labour's Ed Miliband, whose geeky image jarred with voters.
The coalition had led Britain out of a double-dip recession and the Conservatives built their campaign around their "long-term economic plan" for recovery.
Nevertheless, it looked like Cameron held most of the trump cards before the election campaign.
Abroad, following long military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and amid defence cuts, Britain played a smaller role on the world stage.
At home, the coalition was defined by its unpopular spending cuts, while foreign policy was dominated by wrangling over Britain's role in the EU.
Instead, they had to team up with the centrist Liberal Democrats for Britain's first coalition government since World War II.
At the 2010 election, Cameron became Britain's youngest prime minister for 200 years but the Conservatives did not win enough seats to govern alone.
Ivan, who had cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy, died aged six in 2009. Cameron and his wife Samantha have three surviving children.
He posed with husky dogs at the North Pole to highlight his green credentials, while his respect for public services was underlined by the care his disabled son Ivan received from the state-run National Health Service (NHS).
Cameron prioritised the "detoxification" of what one of his leading ministers called "the nasty party" by avoiding traditional right-wing issues like immigration and stressing a more liberal agenda.
The son of a stockbroker, Cameron was educated at the elite Eton College and Oxford University. On graduating, he worked for the Conservatives as an advisor before a stint in public relations which ended when he was elected to parliament in 2001. Rising swiftly, he was elected Conservative leader in 2005, aged 39.
To top it off, he has also promised to step down as leader before the next election in 2020 and identified possible successors including London Mayor Boris Johnson, which could spark a leadership race.
Bowing to the demands of his party, Cameron has promised a referendum on leaving the EU by 2017 if he wins but would face a struggle to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Brussels beforehand.
If the tennis and karaoke-loving prime minister does retain power, his next five years in office could be even harder than his last, which were dogged by controversy over austerity cuts to public services.
Defeat would be a rare failure for a man whose privileged background has led to accusations from critics that he cannot identify with most Britons.
British Prime Minister David Cameron appears to face two thankless alternatives after Thursday's general election -- losing his job aged 48, or leading a fractious government until he steps down.
Cameron's party has 12 candidates of Indian origin, including Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys' N.R. Narayana Murthy, contesting from Richmond. Labour is fielding 52 ethnic minority candidates, including Keith Vaz from Leicester East, Virendra Sharma from Southall and Seema Malhotra from Feltham and Heston.
(File Photo: Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys' N.R. Narayana Murthy)
A survey conducted by BBC Asian Network/ICM has shown that nearly a quarter of the 700,000 Asian voters are yet to make up their minds about the ballot. Another 39 percent said they had decided, but could change their minds before polling day.
(David Cameron of the Conservative Party and Ed Miliband of the Labour Party)
In the last elections in 2010, which also presented a hung result, the Tories had 307 and Labour 258. The Liberal Democrats' 57 helped the Tories cobble together a majority.
The British Parliament or House of Commons is made up of 650 seats with 326 required for a majority.
The two main parties are predicted by opinion polls to win about 280 seats each, Nick Clegg's Liberal Democratic party about 30 seats, the rightwing UK Independence Party two or three seats - but playing spoiler for the Conservatives in many more - and the Scottish Nationalist Party is predicted to win almost all the 59 seats in Scotland.
If neither wins an overall majority, talks will begin on Friday with smaller parties in a race to strike deals. That could lead to a formal coalition, like the one Cameron leads with the centrist Liberal Democrats. Or produce a fragile minority government making trade-offs to guarantee support on key votes.
Labour says it would cut the deficit each year, raise income tax for the highest 1 percent of earners and defend the interests of hard-pressed working families and the treasured but financially stretched national health service.
The Conservatives portray themselves as the party of jobs and economic recovery, promising to reduce income tax for 30 million people while forcing through further spending cuts to eliminate a budget deficit still running at 5 percent of gross domestic product.
David Cameron's Conservatives and Ed Miliband's opposition Labour Party have been neck and neck in opinion polls for months, indicating neither will win enough seats for an outright majority in the 650-seat parliament. "This race is going to be the closest we have ever seen," Miliband told supporters on the eve of the vote.
48 million British voters will decide today who they want to rule the world's fifth-largest economy in a tight election, that has seen Prime Minister David Cameron and other leaders eyeing undecided voters and wooing the 615,000 voters of Indian origin. Polls opened at 0600 GMT (11:30 am IST) and will close at 2100 GMT (02:30 am IST).
