UK Prime Minister David Cameron all but declared victory in a speech after being returned as MP for Witney, in which he set out his intention to press ahead with an in/out referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union and to complete the Conservatives’ economic plan.
Mr. Cameron says he hopes to govern for all of the UK as a BBC forecast gives the Tories 329 seats – enough to form a slender majority in the Commons.
David Cameron is to have an audience with the Queen later as he begins to form his government
“My aim remains simple – to govern on the basis of governing for everyone in our United Kingdom,” he said.
“I want to bring our country together, our United Kingdom together, not least by implementing as fast as we can the devolution that we rightly promised and came together with other parties to agree both for Wales and for Scotland.
“In short, I want my party, and I hope a government I would like to lead, to reclaim a mantle that we should never have lost – the mantle of One Nation, One United Kingdom. That is how I will govern if I am fortunate enough to form a government in the coming days.”
Mr Cameron has returned to Downing Street with his wife Samantha and is expected to hold an audience with the Queen later on Friday.
Chancellor George Osborne said the Conservatives had been “given a mandate to get on with the work we started five years ago” and would follow the “clear instructions” of the British public.
However, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith acknowledged that governing with a small majority was difficult.
“Whatever else we now do we keep it simple, we keep it focused and we absolutely stick to our manifesto commitments,” he told the BBC.
He said the party would deliver an EU referendum as it was a “red line”.
His party made gains in England and Wales, including taking Ed Balls’ seat.
Two senior Labour sources have told the BBC that Ed Miliband is expected to stand down later after Labour was all but wiped out by the SNP in Scotland.
The Lib Dems are heading for as few as eight MPs while UKIP leader Nigel Farage failed to win Thanet South.
Mr Farage, who lost to the Conservatives by nearly 2,800 votes in the Kent seat, has said he would step down if he did not make it to Westminster.
The BBC forecast, with 635 of 650 seats declared, is Conservative 329, Labour 234, the Lib Dems eight, the SNP 56, Plaid Cymru three, UKIP one, the Greens one and others 19.
The Conservatives are expected to have won a 37% share of the national vote, Labour 31%, UKIP 13%, the Lib Dems 8%, the SNP 5%, the Green Party 4% and Plaid Cymru 1%.
In other election developments:
Ed Miliband is expected to make a statement about his own future later after what he said was a “difficult and disappointing” night for Labour
Following a recount, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls lost his Morley and Outwood seat to the Conservatives by just over 400 votes
Nick Clegg has held on to his Sheffield Hallam seat but said it had been a “cruel and punishing night” for his party and would be making a statement on his future later
George Galloway, who was reported to the police for retweeting an exit poll before voting ended, has lost to Labour in Bradford West
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander have lost their seats to the SNP
UKIP polled strongly in the North of England and Douglas Carswell has retained his Clacton seat but Mark Reckless has lost his seat and Nigel Farage could fail to win Thanet South
Vince Cable, Danny Alexander, David Laws, Simon Hughes and Charles Kennedy are among a slew of Lib Dem losers.
Conservative minister Esther McVey also lost Wirral West to Labour
The Green Party is predicted to get one seat after Caroline Lucas retains the Brighton Pavilion constituency she won in 2010
With 16 seats left to declare, turnout is expected to be 66%, marginally up on 2010
Speaking in Doncaster, where he retained his seat, Labour leader Ed Miliband said; “Clearly this has been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labour Party.
“We haven’t made the gains we wanted in England and Wales and in Scotland we have seen a surge of nationalism overwhelming our party.”
He said the next government had a “huge responsibility” and a difficult task to “keep our country together”.
After his own defeat, one of the most surprising results of the night, Mr Balls said he had a “sense of sorrow” about his party’s disappointing performance but he was “confident that Labour would be back” as a “united and determined” political force.
Mr Cameron looks like he will form a majority Conservative government, without the need for a coalition or the formal support of other parties.
The finishing line needed to form an absolute majority is 326, but because Sinn Fein MPs have not taken up seats and the Speaker does not normally vote, the finishing line has, in practice, been 323. In this election, Sinn Fein kept four seats.
Labour has been hammered in Scotland by the SNP, with Nicola Sturgeon’s party seizing 56 of the nation’s 59 seats.
Jim Murphy, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, and shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander have both lost their seats to the SNP, which is benefiting from a 27% average swing from Labour.
Conceding defeat, Mr Murphy said it had “proven hard to turn round years of difficulties with the Scottish Labour Party in just five short months”. (Credit: Elombah).