Theresa May’s election gamble has backfired spectacularly after losing her Commons majority.
The Prime Minister is facing calls to resign for presiding over a disastrous outing in the polls that has resulted in a hung parliament.
She called the election to boost her 17-strong majority and strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations – but has lost 12 MPs amid Labour gains.
In Scotland, Alex Salmond was sensationally dumped in a tough night for the SNP that saw them lose seats to all their main rivals.
The former first minister was the major scalp in an election that also saw SNP depute leader Angus Robertson unseated by the Tories.
The SNP won a majority of the seats in Scotland, but were 21 down on their 2015 performance.
The Tories increased their tally to 13, compared with 7 for Labour and 4 for the Liberal Democrats.
Across the UK, the Tories are poised to win 318 seats with Labour set to get 262. There are a handful of seats still to be declared.
The number required for an overall majority is 326.
In Courier Country, the SNP could not repeat the clean sweep of the nine constituencies.
Mike Weir lost the Angus seat he has held since 2001, while the Conservatives over-turned sizeable Nationalist majorities in Angus and Ochil and South Perthshire.
Stephen Gethins clung on to his North East Fife seat by just two votes, in one of the closest battles Westminster has seen.
Labour took Gordon Brown’s former seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath as the party recaptured some of its heartlands.
