Theresa May Projected to Lose Her Majority in U.K. Parliament
In a last appeal to voters, Mrs. May said: "If we get Brexit right, we can build a Britain
that is more prosperous and more secure, a Britain in which prosperity and opportunity is shared by all," asking Britons to trust her to "knuckle down and get the job done." An earlier version of this article misstated the number of parliamentary seats held by the Scottish National Party heading into the election.
Poll results found that the Conservatives would remain the largest party,
but they were projected to win only 314 seats, down from 331 won in 2015, and 12 votes short of a majority.
"But I think there are question marks about her leadership of the party,
and if she comes out with a majority of 40 or even 50, I think some Conservatives are going to say, ‘Was it really worth it?"’ The candidates spent the last day of official campaigning racing around the country — Mrs. May by jet, Mr. Corbyn by train.
But in an indication of her party’s confidence, she continued to campaign in seats the Tories think
they can win, while Mr. Corbyn tended to stick to seats Labour could not afford to lose.
The Scottish National Party was projected to be down to 34 seats from 56, while the
centrist Liberal Democrats were projected to win 14 seats, up from 8 in 2015.
In 2015, the exit poll had the Conservatives at only 316 seats, short of a majority; the actual result gave them a majority, with 331.
According to the exit poll, Mrs. May may have lost the extraordinary gamble she made in calling the election —
and Britain may be headed for a hung Parliament, in which no party has a majority.
