Today, the United Kingdom goes to the polls to elect a new Parliament. Polls closed at 5 PM ET, but different seats will report at different times. The first results are expected between 6-7 PM ET, with more seats coming in 7-10 PM, with a deluge of seats coming in starting around 10 PM. Unlike in the U.S. where individual precincts report, the results of the entire constituency come in at once. You can find a comprehensive list of UK election resources
here.
Results: BBC | London Times
Thu May 07, 2015 at 9:58 PM PT (David Jarman): And add two more Lib Dem casualties: they lose Solihull to the Conservatives, and Cambridge to Labour. (Cambridge was pretty unusual to the extent that it was one of few constituencies with a potentially four-way race, including the Greens.)
Thu May 07, 2015 at 10:01 PM PT (David Jarman): Most recent projections, as the targets shift as the night unfolds, are the Conservatives hitting the 325 mark they need for a majority without any other parties getting involved. (They don't need 326, assuming that Sinn Fein continues to abstain from taking their seats.)
Thu May 07, 2015 at 10:02 PM PT (David Jarman): The Tories grab back Corby from Labour, who picked up the seat in a 2012 by-election.
Thu May 07, 2015 at 10:08 PM PT (David Jarman): Sensing a trend? Two more losses for the Lib Dems ... one goes to the Conservatives, in St. Austell and Newquay, and one goes to Labour, in Birmingham Yardley.
Thu May 07, 2015 at 10:13 PM PT (David Jarman): We mentioned it several hours ago, but it's finally official: demagogic George Galloway (of the Respect Party) is out, in Bradford West. Labour's Nassem Shah more than doubled-up on Galloway, winning 50 to 21.
Thu May 07, 2015 at 10:21 PM PT (David Jarman): I suppose this also counts as good news, even if it's a Tory gain, because it means the right-wing xenophobic UK Independence Party will probably finish the night with only one seat, one less than they started with. The aptly-named Mark Reckless, who switched from Conservative to UKIP in 2014, lost to an actual Tory in Rochester & Strood. With the UKIP failing in pickup attempts in Thurrock and Thanet South, it looks like their only member left will be Douglas Carswell in Clacton.
Thu May 07, 2015 at 10:32 PM PT (David Jarman): The Lib Dem purge continues, with Norman Baker losing to a Tory in Lewes. The Tories also hold Boston and Skegness: not really a surprise, but it was one of the UKIP's top targets.
Thu May 07, 2015 at 10:46 PM PT (David Jarman): We're about to wrap it up for the night (or morning, if you're reading this in the UK). Results are starting to dry up, and the main question at this point is whether the Tories can get to the 326 they need for an unquestioned majority or not.
There are still a few outstanding races involving big players, too, which haven't come in yet. There's the question of Ed Balls, the #2 man at Labour and a probable successor to Miliband if he survives; he's supposedly in a very close race in Morley and Outwood. The other big question mark is what happens in Thanet South, where the UKIP's leader, Nigel Farage, is attempting to gain a seat.
With that, thanks for sticking around with us tonight! We'll be back with more post mortems and "what it all means" tomorrow.