British poll has bad news for May

Conservatives might lose majority, results show

LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May’s gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, with a real possibility that her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament.

If confirmed, the result would lead to a period of political uncertainty and could throw Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union — due to start June 19 — into disarray.

With more than two-thirds of the seats counted, the results appeared to be generally bearing out an exit poll that predicted the Conservatives would get 314 of the 650 seats in Parliament, down from 330, while the Labour Party was projected to win 266, up from 229.

As the results piled up, some form of minority or coalition government appeared increasingly likely. That raised the odds that an election called by May to provide “strong and stable government” would bring instability and the chance of yet another early election.

The results confounded those who said the opposition Labour Party’s leftwing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was electorally toxic. Written off by many pollsters, Labour surged in the final weeks of the campaign. It drew strong support from young people, who appeared to have turned out to vote in bigger-thanexpected numbers.

It would also put pressure to resign on May, who called the snap election in the hope of increasing her majority and strengthening Britain’s hand in exit talks with the European Union. As she was resoundingly re-elected to her Maidenhead seat in southern England, May looked tense and did not spell out what she planned to do.

“The country needs a period of stability and whatever the results are the Conservative Party will ensure we fulfil our duty in ensuring that stability so that we can all, as one country, go forward together,” she said.

Others predicted she would soon be gone.