The General Election Exit Poll Result Has Been Announced

The exit poll for the UK election has indicated that the UK is on course for a hung parliament, with the Conservatives winning the most seats but being unable to form a majority government.

The poll predicts they will win 314, 12 short of an overall majority of 326 seats. Labour are predicted to gain 34 seats, rising to 266 seats.

Labour's Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry, responding to the exit poll, said: "They have been right for the last 20 years or so, 30 years, so I think we're on the verge of a great result."

At the last General Election, the Conservatives won a 12-seat majority in parliament allowing them to govern as the majority party.

However, Prime Minister Theresa May called today's early election in April, claiming she needed to increase her majority so that she can 'get the job done' on Brexit.

The exit polls usually reveal which party will go on to win the General Election. They are conducted outside polling stations and take a random sample of people who have actually voted in the election.

This means the exit poll is much more reliable than the majority of polls that ask voters who they plan to vote for on election day in advance.

Back in the 2015 election, the shock exit poll revealed that the Conservatives would go on to win a majority under David Cameron's leadership - the pollsters had predicted a hung parliament.

On election night, Professor John Curtice fronts the exit poll team of analysts from a number of universities across the UK.

Professor John Curtice heads up the exit poll team (Credit: BBC)

After the shock 2015 election, he said: "Rule number one with conducting any exit poll is to forget anything and everything you have read, seen, or looked at in advance.

"You have to go with the data produced by the polling itself, and have faith in the method and design that has been developed across recent elections."

Polling stations opened at 7am and closed at 10pm tonight.

Sunderland South is usually the first constituency to declare the official result. From around 11pm there should then be a steady trickle of results. The main wave of results is expected to start at about 3am with the overall picture clear by about 5am.

David Dimbleby will host BBC election coverage. (Credit: BBC)

Overnight, the leader of the winning party traditionally waits for the leader of the losing party to concede defeat before claiming victory.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

James Dawson

James Dawson is a Journalist at LADbible. He has contributed articles to LADbible’s ‘Knowing Me, Knowing EU’ series on the EU referendum, the 'Electoral Dysfunction' series on the 2017 general election, the ‘U OK M8?’ series tackling mental health amongst young men, and for its ‘Climate Change’ initiative in partnership with National Geographic.

@thejaytoday