DTN News: 2010 UK Election ~ Updates

DTN News: 2010 UK Election ~ Updates Source: DTN News / BBC (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 6, 2010: Different sets of data suggest different outcomes in this general election, but none of them are very cheering for the Labour party.

RESULTS

326 to win

Party	Predicted seats	SEATS	CHANGE	VOTE %
	Conservative	206	+53	36.6
	Labour	153	-47	27.4
	Liberal Democrat	30	-5	22.3

• Prediction
• 415 of 650 seats declared
• Full results

Conservatives head for big gains

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Exit polls suggest the Conservatives will fall 21 short of a majority, amid anger as queuing voters are turned away from polling stations.

The BBC's exit poll indicates the Conservatives will win 305 seats, giving them the status of the largest party in the House of Commons but not an overall majority. That would leave David Cameron relying on the support of other parties to govern. The Conservatives, though, will be cheered by a number of results - not least their first gain of the night in Kingswood - which show a swing from Labour to the Tories of 9%. If this was reflected across the country, David Cameron would have more than the 326 seats he needs to outvote every other party and govern on his own. There is more to this, though, than a simple dash to the finish line. If the Conservatives secure more than 300 votes they will probably be able to get most of their

business done in the Commons by relying on the support - or abstentions - of smaller parties. The exit poll held bad news for the Liberal Democrats - suggesting they would lose a seat. Its forecasts have been dismissed by some senior party figures who remain confident Nick Clegg's high profile and opinion poll results will be turned into real success. Brown deal hint The Lib Dems may yet be central to the story of the night.

If there is no overall majority, the Conservatives will only get a chance to try to form a government once Gordon Brown has resigned. Labour's Lord Mandelson told the BBC: "If it's a hung parliament it's not the party with the largest number of seats that has first go, it's the sitting government." In other words, if a hung parliament results then Gordon Brown can try to do a deal with the Lib Dems to keep him in Number 10. Many will take that statement of constitutional fact as a hint the Labour leader will attempt just that. If he does he will face fury from the Conservatives, and Nick Clegg will have to make some very important decisions. For many the queues outside polling stations are the feature of this election that will stick in the memory. It is clear now voters at locations across the country have arrived to have their say in this election and been turned away. The Electoral Commission will review what has happened, but it has also said the confusion could result in legal challenges. If candidates or parties contest the outcomes of individual counts, a question mark could settle over the future of a number of newly elected MPs.