A map of UK parliamentary constituencies * Figure does not include the Speaker of the House of CommonsJohn Bercow, who was included in the Conservative seat total by some media outlets.
Labour won a lot of seats from the Conservatives. This was the first time Labour had gained seats since 1997. The election happened because Parliament voted for a snap election after the 2016 Brexit referendum.[3]
Date
The next general election was due to be held on 8 May 2020. Theresa May announced on 18 April 2017 that she wanted it to be held on 8 June .[4] The House of Commons voted in favour of this proposal on 19 April 2017[4] allowing the election to take place in June 2017.
Results
Exit poll
BBC News, ITV and Sky News all released an exit poll at 10pm. This poll predicted the Conservatives would be the largest party but lose their majority.
Exit poll results:
Conservative Party - 314
Labour Party - 266
Scottish National Party - 34
Liberal Democrats - 14
Plaid Cymru - 3
Green Party - 1
UK Independence Party - 0
Others - 18
Final results
The final results were very similar to the exit poll.
Conservative Party - 317 (down 13 seats)
Labour Party - 262 (up 30 seats)
Scottish National Party - 35 (down 21 seats)
Liberal Democrats - 12 (up 4 seats)
Plaid Cymru - 3 (no change)
Green Party - 1 (no change)
United Kingdom Independence Party - 0 (down 1 seat)
Others - 18
When the election was called the Conservative Party had a big lead in the polls and they were expected to win by a landslide. As the campaign went on the Labour Party closed the gap in the polls and the Conservatives lost their majority in the House of Commons.[5]
↑Given that Sinn Féin MPs do not take their seats and the Speaker and deputies do not vote, the number of MPs needed for a majority is, in practice, slightly lower. Sinn Féin won 7 seats, meaning a practical majority requires at least 320 MPs.