Watching the BBC returns.

[nycbos]

One thing I have noticed.

Labour areas of the country report their results faster than the Tory areas. Which is the opposite of the United States


Here Republican areas report the faster then Democratic areas.


I find this a interesting fact for my inner nerd.

[hrmjustin]

1. All votes are counted by hand.

In rural districts it takes longer to get the ballots to the counting center.

[MrPurple]

2. Exit polls released & if accurate, say it will be a hung Parliament

with Conservatives losing outright majority and either Labour or Conservative ending up with a ruling coalition with 3rd parties.

May called the snap election two weeks ago because Conservatives were like 20% ahead in the polls and they thought it was an easy opportunity to add seats to their majority. I wonder how much May's association with Trump & his thuggery with the NATO leaders, his links to Putin, his refusal to commit to their defense, backing out of the climate accords have contributed to her downswing in the polls. His disgusting bashing of the London mayor hours after last weekends attacks were probably a nice topper.

Even if May hangs on, the Tories' majority is clearly going to decline. Does anyone know how common it is for a ruling party to call a snap election because they think they're likely to increase their majority, only to then lose it?

[RandySF]

3. Conservatives are benefitting from UKIP collapse.

[nycbos]

4. True. But Labour appears to be getting a decent size share of the UKIP vote.

[SaschaHM]

5. Maybe May should campaign for GoP house seats in 2018.

Her visit is like the kiss of death.

[HipChick]

6. My home town stayed Tory..

Not shocked, but Labor have picked off some major Tory strongholds..

[moondust]

7. Hmmm...

In the U.S. isn't that because many Republican voters live in more rural areas where there are fewer votes to count?

I have a pet theory that in countries with multiple viable parties voters have to dig deeper than a simple red/blue choice similar to a football game to gain an understanding of subtle ideological differences, and therefore tend to gain a better understanding of politics in general. Savvy voters out in less urban areas know it isn't liberal/labour parties that are responsible for so many job losses, while the cities tend to be more financialized and therefore more closely aligned with the austerity policies of conservative parties.

I think a lot of rural U.S. voters get hooked by GOP racism, guns, and God rather than any deeper understanding of policy implications.

[HipChick]

8. Look at the UK voting map

[moondust]

9. Do you like Jeremy?

I don't know much about him other than his manifesto advocates anti-austerity stuff that Bernie Sanders seems to like.

[HipChick]

10. I know more about Diane Abbott than I do about him...

but he got the Youth vote out...

[L. Coyote]

11. LINK: Election Results 2017 summary: Key points at-a-glance

Conservatives, the biggest party, are going to fall short of the 326 seats needed for a majority.

http://www.bbc.com/news/election-2017-40190964

Story so far

The UK is waking up to a hung parliament
The BBC is predicting a final score of 318 seats for the Conservatives, down 13 on 2015, 261 for Labour - up 29 seats, 35 seats for the SNP, a loss of 21 seats, the Lib Dems up six to 14 seats, Plaid Cymru remaining on three seats, the Greens on one, UKIP on none and 18 seats to other parties.
Labour has done better than expected and although the Conservatives are the biggest party, they are going to fall short of the 326 seats needed for a majority.
Lib Dems have had a mixed night with some former big figures returning - but ex-leader Nick Clegg losing his seat
The SNP remain the largest party in Scotland but the Conservatives have won 12 seats off them so far, Labour have won seven and the Lib Dems three.
The pound fell amid speculation over hung parliament - down 1.5% to 1.27 US dollars. Against the euro, the pound fell by 1% to 1.13 euros.
Turnout is so far up by 3 points - it could still be below 70% by the end of the night, but looks as though it will be the highest since 1997.
In Northern Ireland, the SDLP have lost all three of their Westminster seats.
Labour is putting in a strong showing in Wales, taking back Gower, Cardiff North and Vale of Clwyd from the Conservatives

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