How many seats for majority? Conservatives need 12 more than exit poll predicts to form a majority government
THE shock general election exit poll put the Tories 12 seats shy of an overall majority.
A hung parliament — which the poll suggests is a possibility — leaves open the prospect of Corbyn-led coalition of chaos.
The Conservatives were hoping to far exceed the 326 seats needed to form a government on their own.
But the massive survey of over 30,000 voters suggest they will only manage 314 seats.
It's the same number as Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP combined, meaning kingmaker smaller parties like the Greens and the Northern Irish could come into play.
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A hung parliament is declared if no party wins an outright majority by securing more seats than all the other parties combined.
Since 1929 there have only been two UK General Elections that resulted in hung parliaments – in 1974 and 2010.
But Defence Secretary Michael Fallon tried to temper Tory jitters, telling the BBC: "Exit polls have been wrong in the past".
And Peter Kellner, the former head of polling giant YouGov, said initial results had showed massive swings to the Tories in Labour's northeast stronghold.
In Sunderland the swing to Labour was only two per cent rather than and expected seven per cent after the exit poll.
In 2015 the Conservatives won 331 seats - meaning they could face losing 17 seats if the poll is accurate.
The value of the Pound immediately took a nosedive amid fears of economic chaos if socialist Corbyn is handed the keys to number 10.
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