The general election where everyone lost

Theresa May is facing a monumental backlash after the general election resulted in a hung parliament.

The Conservative Party leader’s gamble on a snap election blew up in her face, with the Conservatives failing to secure the massive majority predicted at the start of the general election campaign.

With some results yet to be announced, the Tories are set to win the most seats but fall short of an overall majority.

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But it wasn’t just a disastrous night for the Conservatives – there were casualties across the board as the results trickled in, with shock losses hitting every party.

The Conservative Party

This election has turned out to be a catastrophe for the Conservative Party.

When Theresa May called the country to the polls back in April, she was predicted to secure a massive majority, gifting her a mandate in the Brexit negotiations and strengthening her own position as leader.

Over the seven weeks of campaigning her lead over Labour has plummeted, with the party failing to secure a majority on election night and unable to form a Conservative government.

In a humiliating turnaround, the Prime Minister has ended the night with fewer seats than she started with.

Theresa May’s own faltering campaign has been slammed as a disaster, and her position as leader has been put in jeopardy. Jeremy Corbyn has called for her resignation, and Tories have begun to distance themselves from her campaign.

The Labour Party

The Labour Party has outperformed expectations, trouncing predictions that the party would be decimated at the hands of Theresa May. But they still lost the election.

Jeremy Corbyn’s party snatched a number of key seats and made some unexpected gains, but did not emerge as the largest party and failed to achieve a Labour government.

Ukip

Ukip was humiliated across the board.

Their vote collapsed as both Labour and the Tories sliced into their share, which fell from 12.6% under Nigel Farage in 2015 to just 2%.

Party leader Paul Nuttall failed to win a seat, the only Ukip MP was ousted and the party racked up tens of thousands of pounds worth of lost deposit bills.

The Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrat snatched back some of the seats that slipped through their fingers in 2015, boosting their presence in Westminster.

However, one of the major losses of the night was the overthrowing of Nick Clegg, the former Lib Dem leader.

He had held the seat since 2005, but lost to Labour’s Jared O’Mara by a margin of 2,125.

The British People

The real loser of the general election looks to be the British people.

Theresa May’s snap election has left us with a hung parliament and a looming period of political turmoil.

Instead of the strong and stable leadership promised so enthusiastically, we’re left with the likelihood of another Tory leadership race and even the possibility of another election if no party manages to secure a government.

The politicians’ continued bickering is also bad news for Brexit. Brussels is keen to crack on with negotiations, and are unlikely to look favourably on May’s failed attempt to ‘strengthen her hand’ at the negotiating table.

Sophie in ‘t Veld‏, a Dutch MEP who set up the European parliament’s task force looking at the UK’s treatment of EU nationals, tweeted that the Tory party was ‘beginning to look like a casino.’

In another blow, the political uncertainty is driving sterling into the ground and tetchy markets are looking uncertain.