What a hung parliament means for the UK and Brexit

The election results are in and the UK has a hung parliament. We explain what this means and when the last hung parliament was and what happens in a hung parliament.

Theresa May called the snap general election to strengthen her hand. The opposite has happened. Not only has the prime minister lost seats – predominantly to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour – she's created a hung parliament. No one party has overall control and the UK is in an even weaker position going into Brexit than before.

Following the result, May has confirmed she is seeking a coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party and will now put these proposals to the Queen.

What is a hung parliament?

When a single political party fails to win an overall majority of seats in the House of Commons during a general election it creates what's known as a 'hung parliament'. There are 650 seats meaning a party needs 326 to take a majority and the UK works with a First Past The Post (FPTP) voting system.

Election results (as they stand)

Conservative: 318 seats representing a 42.4 per cent share

Labour: 261 seats

Scottish National Party: 35 seats

Liberal Democrat: 12 seats

Democratic Unionist Party: 10 seats

Other: 13 seats

What is First Past the Post?

Ballot papers include candidates who are members of different parties or independent groups and, as only one Member of Parliament can be elected for each constituency, only one candidate is put forward for each group.

To become an MP, a candidate must achieve the largest number of votes in their area and this is repeated in 650 constituencies across the UK. As every MP will be elected with different levels of support, the proportion of seats a party gets in Parliament will rarely reflect the proportion of votes they received.

The candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins and becomes the MP for that seat.

Does this mean the Conservatives stay in power?
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The above results show the Tories can't realistically govern in their own right – unless they want to lead with a minority which can prove difficult when trying to pass legislations. However, neither can Labour. Typically in the case of a hung parliament, the previous government remains in position while there is a period of negotiation to build a coalition government.

In a situation of no overall control, the incumbent party is given the first chance at creating a government by negotiating with rival parties. The leader of the largest opposition party may be invited to form this government either on its own or with more than one party.

This is unlikely in the case of the 2017 general election. The Tories and Labour have extremely opposing views on many aspects and it will be highly unlikely Jeremy Corbyn will do a deal with Theresa May and vice versa. Instead, the Conservatives have called on the DUP to form a coalition and will put this proposal to the Queen.

Who is your Member of Parliament?

Following the result, Facebook has introduced a tool to help you identify who your MP is by typing in your postcode. The results show the name of the prime minister (still to be confirmed following the hung parliament) and your representative. You can then choose to 'follow' your representative(s) on Facebook by clicking 'Follow All' at the top of the pop-up window.

Facebook has also revealed the election results with a colour-coded chart showing the declared seats for each political party and how this compares to their 2015 share. Additionally, you can see the party breakdown of votes in your area and voter turnout.

When was the last hung parliament?

The last hung parliament in the UK happened in 2010 - the first time since the 1970s. As a result of David Cameron's Conservatives failing to win enough seats for a majority, the party formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Historically, in recent decades, there has been very little experience of a hung parliament in the UK "The last election that returned a hung parliament at Westminster was in February 1974," UCL academics have written. "Since then there were also hung parliaments after prime ministers James Callaghan (in 1976) and John Major (in 1996) lost their Commons majorities due to byelection defeats and defections".

Following the 1974 election, the Conservatives and Liberal parties tried to form a coalition government but failed. Instead a minority Labour government was formed.

However, in other countries hung parliament are a lot more common. The different electoral models – proportional representation as opposed to the UK's first past the post system – of Germany and Holland often return hung parliaments.

When will the decision be made?

The coalition in 2010 was formed within five days and, while there is no official time limit for negotiations, the new Parliament is due to meet on June 13, according to official guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, so it is likely a decision (of some sort) will have been made by then. However, May could also wait until the new Parliament gathers to see if she has the confidence of the House of Commons.

The Queen's Speech is scheduled for June 19, during which any proposed new laws will be discussed and the new government becomes official. If one party doesn't have a majority, and a coalition hasn't been formed, they may fail to get these laws passed. It will be a gamble to go into these discussions without feeling confident about the outcome. The leader of the party will tell the Queen they have a "workable Commons majority" and Queen will approve for it to be voted through.

What about Brexit?

There is a chance that the Brexit negotiations, due to begin on June 19, could be delayed but May will need to ask the European Union for more time. Following the result, the EU's Michel Barnier tweeted: "#Brexit negotiations should start when UK is ready; timetable and EU positions are clear. Let's put our minds together on striking a deal." The UK has two years to agree a deal.

This article was originally published by WIRED UK