David Cameron will be returned for a second term as the UK
Prime Minister with an expanded mandate for his Conservative Party. The BBC is projecting that the Conservatives will come
within a single vote of being able to govern alone. But even if they come up
short,
Cameron will have a clear mandate to put together a government with the
support of minor parties.
The scale of Cameron's win has come as a shock, particularly
for Labour leader Ed Miliband who had hoped to oust the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. Miliband conceded it had been a "very disappointing and
difficult night for the Labour Party".
Labour has relinquished dozens of seats and failed to grab
key marginals. It has been all but wiped out by the Scottish National Party in
seats north of the English border. The Liberal Democrats suffered even heavier losses and party
leader Nick Clegg appeared to indicate he will step down.
The Conservatives, on the other hand, have picked up a few
seats. A Government in the UK needs 326 votes in the House of Commons to command
a majority. In its latest projection, the BBC predicted the
Conservatives would win 325 seats, Labour 232, the SNP 56, Liberal Democrats
12, Democratic Unionist Party 8 and UKIP 2.
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