Conservatives projected to secure most seats in UK election but not outright majority

Exit polls are projecting that Britain's Conservative Party will secure the largest number of parliamentary seats in the country’s general election on Thursday, but by a smaller margin than in the last election, falling short of an outright governing majority.

The survey, taken at polling stations across the UK, suggests the party could seat 314 MPs in the House of Commons while the main opposition Labour Party could secure 266 seats.

That projection, if it materializes, would see the Conservatives having 17 seats less than they won in the last election and place the party 12 seats short of an overall majority of 326 seats that it would have been aiming for, at a minimum.

That would represent a major setback for Prime Minister Theresa May who had been hoping for a stronger hand in negotiating Britain’s exit from the European Union with a larger parliamentary majority behind her.

On the other hand, it would represent a significant change of fortunes for the Labour Party, under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, with the left-leaning party projected to gain 34 more seats than it secured in the last election in 2015.

The Lib Dems are projected to gain six and the SNP to lose 22 seats.