David Cameron to Remain UK Premier as Party Forms Govt

Despite months of polls forecasting a hung parliament, the collapse in support for both Labour and the Liberal Democrats looks likely to be good news for David Cameron.

"This is clearly a very strong night for the Conservative party," Mr Cameron said after retaining his Witney seat.

Ed Miliband's party had high hopes in the run up to the vote but the rise of the Scottish National Party has left his plans in tatters.

And the Lib Dems suffered an electoral nightmare with several senior MPs, including Vince Cable and Simon Hughes, losing their seats.

Boris Johnson, who returned to Parliament as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, said: "It's an astonishing night for the Conservatives.

"If you consider where we were only a few hours ago which was looking at polls saying it is neck and neck, it turns out the British people have the most amazing surprise up their sleeve."

An exit poll, carried out on behalf of the major broadcasters, predicted the Conservatives would be the largest party – but 10 seats short of a majority.

It put the Conservatives on 316 seats, Labour on 239, the Scottish National Party on 58, the Liberal Democrats on 10 and UKIP on two.

Third highest number of voters

Mr Miliband's disastrous night, which saw both Scottish Labour Party leader Jim Murphy and shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander losing to the SNP, has led to intense speculation about his future.

One source told Sky News "he won't make tomorrow lunchtime".

Speaking after holding his Doncaster seat, Mr Miliband said: "It's clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labour party.

"We have not made the gains we wanted in England and Wales and in Scotland we have seen a surge of nationalism overwhelm our party."

The Scottish National Party arrived as a real force in Westminster, winning an unprecedented 52 seats.

Leader Nicola Sturgeon said: "Whatever the Government is that emerges at Westminster, they cannot ignore what has happened in Scotland."

UKIP endured a night of frustration and looks unlikely to add to its two seats – despite winning the third-highest number of votes across the country.

Douglas Carswell, who held the seat he was re-elected to after defecting from the Conservative Party in 2014, hit out at the "dysfunctional" political system and said around five million people had cast their ballot for UKIP – but would "be lucky to get a tiny handful of MPs".

Courtesy: Sky News