UK Conservative party set to lose parliamentary majority

YemenExtra

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative party is set to lose its overall majority but maintain a plurality of votes, an exit poll showed on Thursday after voting closed.

May’s party will win 314 seats in Britain’s election, short of a majority in the 650-seat parliament.

The nationwide exit poll conducted for major broadcasters predicted 266 seats for the opposition Labour Party run by socialist campaigner Jeremy Corbyn, 34 for the Scottish National Party and 14 for the Liberal Democrats.

However, a spokesperson for the opposition Labour party expressed scepticism about the early exit poll, saying that the results need to be seen first, according to a BBC report.

The pound immediately tumbled after the poll.

With 97 seats decided, Labour has netted 53 of them and the Conservatives have 31.

The BBC reported that 76 seats appeared too close to call.

Until the final results become clear, it is hard to predict whether May has a chance of surviving as prime minister and who might end up leading the next government and steering Britain into divorce talks with the European Union.