LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain needed a period of stability and that she would take responsibility for delivering it if she won the most seats. 
 
 “At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability,” May said after winning her own parliamentary seat. 
 
 “If, as the indications have shown, and if this is correct that the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do,” May said. (Reporting Costas Pitas, writing by William James editing by Guy Faulconbridge) ||||| When no party gets enough seats in the House of Commons to form a majority Government the result is described as a hung parliament. 
 
 Parties must get more than 326 MPs in order to have a majority. 
 
 If nobody does, someone has to try and form a stable Government and this can ultimately mean the party which technically comes second in the election can form a ruling body instead. 
 
 What happens next? 
 
 The incumbent Government - the last one before the election - stays in Number 10 until a new Government can be formed. 
 
 Theresa May will not move out and talks will begin to see if the Conservatives can find enough support from other parties to rule. 
 
 So does Theresa May get the first shot at forming a coalition? 
 
 Yes. Although it doesn't mean she will definitely be the next Prime Minister. If the Conservatives get close to the magic 326 number on their own they may be able to borrow support from the DUP, a party which tends to vote with them anyway. 
 
 Talks will begin to try and see who can make a deal work. One of the two parties with a realistic chance - the Conservatives or Labour - could also choose to govern as a minority and find support from other MPs as and when they need to get a vote through parliament. 
 
 This is much harder than governing with a majority, even a small one. 
 
 What happens if she fails? 
 
 If Theresa May can't get the numbers it will be Labour's chance to try and do the same unless the Tories want to try their luck with a minority. 
 
 She will be expected to resign. 
 
 Labour could borrow support from other parties, although the Lib Dems have ruled this out and Jeremy Corbyn vowed not to work with the Scottish Nationals. 
 
 Do the voters get a say? 
 
 No. Once the general election has taken place and no overall decision has been made it's up to the parties to make the best of it as the Conservatives and the Lib Dems did in 2010. 
 
 How long does it take? 
 
 There is no time limit to agree a new Government. In 2010 it took five days, although many people thought this was too quick and important details were missed, leading to problems further down the line. 
 
 Either way neither of the parties will want to take too long about it because the Brexit negotiations begin 11 days after polling day. 
 
 And Parliament will meet again on the 13 June, so someone has to have come up with a solution by then. Mrs May has the option of waiting until this date to see if she has the confidence of the Commons too. 
 
 A Queen's Speech must be presented by 19 June, either by Mrs May or Mr Corbyn. Parliament must vote the speech through so this is the key test for a new Government. 
 
 Does the Queen have a say? 
 
 No, the Queen doesn't get involved in politics at all. But there are suggestions she may not deliver the speech if she is not sure it will be voted through Parliament. 
 
 Could there be another election? 
 
 Possibly. If the Conservatives form a minority Government the Prime Minister could seek another election later in the year. This is what Ted Heath did in 1974 when he won a majority the second time around, but it is a risk. 
 
 If MPs table a no-confidence motion in the sitting Government a new election could be triggered as long as the opposition also couldn't form a Government. 
 
 This is where it all gets a bit complicated though. If there is a no-confidence motion in Theresa May she could hand the leadership of her party to a colleague, who could seek to form a Government. 
 
 If they can't, power could be handed to Labour but this would be uncharted territory because it means the governing party would change without an election. This would be unprecedented. 
 
 Analysis from Kate McCann 
 
 Election Bulletin ||||| Getty Images Copyright: Getty Images 
 
 That's all from us for tonight - but before we go, here's a round-up of what's happened in an extraordinary day. 
 
 Election ends in hung Parliament: Conservatives win 318 seats, Labour 262 
 
 Speaking after visiting Buckingham Palace, Theresa May said only her party had the "legitimacy" to govern, despite falling eight seats short of a majority. 
 
 PM confirms five top cabinet posts, including chancellor and foreign secretary 
 
 Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, Brexit Secretary David Davis, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Chancellor Philip Hammond and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson all keep their positions. 
 
 Tories to form government with DUP to 'provide certainty' and keep country 'safe' 
 
 It is thought Mrs May will seek some kind of informal arrangement that could see the DUP "lend" its support to the Tories on a vote-by-vote basis, known as "confidence and supply". 
 
 Theresa May's government 'will carry on Brexit negotiations to existing timetable' 
 
 European Council president Donald Tusk has warned the UK that time is running out and there was a risk of a "no deal" outcome as a result of no negotiations taking place. 
 
 Jeremy Corbyn hails Labour's 'incredible result' and calls for May to resign 
 
 He said the PM should "make way" for a government that would be "truly representative of the people of this country" and said Labour was ready to form a minority government of its own. 
 
 The Lib Dems' Tim Farron also calls on May to quit 
 
 The party said Mrs May should be "ashamed" of carrying on. 
 
 SNP will work with others to keep 'reckless' Tories out 'if at all possible' 
 
 The SNP remains the largest party in Scotland but lost 21 seats to the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems. 
 
 Paul Nuttall resigns as UKIP leader after the party won no seats 
 
 He said it was clear "UKIP requires a new focus and new ideas" but was confident it had a "great future". He also deleted his Twitter and Facebook accounts. 
 
 Follow continuing developments over the weekend here. ||||| Image copyright Getty Images 
 
 The general election has ended in a hung Parliament, where no party has the 326 seats needed to get an overall majority in the House of Commons. 
 
 So what happens now? 
 
 Who is the prime minister? 
 
 Theresa May remains prime minister. She plans to form a minority government, relying on the Democratic Unionist Party for support. 
 
 Does this mean there will definitely be a Conservative government? 
 
 If the DUP supports the Conservatives, then yes, they would together have more than the 326 seats required for a majority to pass a legislative programme. 
 
 The two parties are currently in discussion, DUP leader Arlene Foster said. And the Conservatives, as the government in power before the general election, get the first attempt at forming an administration. 
 
 In theory, if they fail to secure DUP backing, Labour could attempt to form its own minority government. But this is unlikely. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images 
 
 How do the numbers stack up? 
 
 The Conservatives and the DUP: 328 
 
 Labour, SNP, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and Green: 314 
 
 A reminder: The magic number required for a Commons majority is 326. 
 
 Sorry, your browser cannot display this content. Find your constituency and candidates Enter a postcode or seat name Start typing to search Search for constituencies 
 
 How does a minority government actually work? 
 
 If the Conservatives go forward as a minority administration, they will fill all the ministerial positions themselves. 
 
 But they will rely on the support of the DUP to help them pass legislation. 
 
 Key to this is an arrangement called "confidence and supply" whereby the DUP would support the Tories if a vote of no confidence was called and help them to pass their Budget. 
 
 Negotiations would still be needed to prevent ordinary day-to-day government business from being defeated. 
 
 How long will it last? 
 
 Theresa May has said her government will provide "stability" going into Brexit negotiations. And the next general election isn't due until 2022. 
 
 But maintaining party unity and passing the government's bills will be a tricky task with so little room for rebellion - and the DUP are sure to make their own demands in return for propping up Mrs May's government. 
 
 The BBC's Mark D'Arcy predicts a Conservative/DUP alliance faces a "long, precarious high-wire act", which will be "beset by troubles and entanglements at every turn". 
 
 If the government grinds to a halt as a result, another general election could become unavoidable. 
 
 This can only happen if: 
 
 Two-thirds of MPs vote for it. In practice, it would need to be supported by both Labour and the Conservatives. Or: 
 
 MPs pass a motion of no confidence in the government AND an existing or new government cannot win a confidence vote in the Commons within 14 days of the no-confidence vote 
 
 Has minority government happened before? 
 
 Several elections resulted in minority government in the early part of the 20th century. 
 
 Governments have also started out with majorities which were then lost due to by-elections and defections. 
 
 Labour had a majority of three after the 1974 general election - but this had vanished by 1977, and it stayed in power thanks to a "pact" with the Liberal Party. 
 
 And John Major's Conservative government started out with a majority of 21 in 1992 but was a minority government by the 1997 general election. 
 
 When will things be finalised? 
 
 The first deadline is Tuesday 13 June, when the new Parliament meets for the first time. 
 
 Mrs May has until this date to put together a deal to keep herself in power or resign, according to official guidance issued by the Cabinet Office. 
 
 She is entitled to wait until the new Parliament to see if she has the confidence of the House of Commons. 
 
 The government then needs to see if it can assemble the votes it needs to get its programme of proposed new laws passed in the Queen's Speech, which is scheduled for Monday 19 June. 
 
 This is when it will be relying on the DUP's support. 
 
 What about a coalition? 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption David Cameron and Nick Clegg led a coalition after the 2010 general election 
 
 A coalition is when two or more parties join forces to govern as a single unit. 
 
 The junior partners are given ministerial jobs and a joint programme for government is set out. 
 
 This is what happened in 2010, when the Conservatives and Lib Dems teamed up, but it is unlikely this time given the numbers involved and the parties' statements. 
 
 Labour has ruled one out - and in any case an alliance with the Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Greens would still leave it short of a majority. 
 
 What will happen to the Brexit talks? 
 
 The talks are currently due to begin on 19 June but if it takes a while to form a government it could ask the EU for a delay. 
 
 The EU Parliament's chief negotiator said the outcome "will make already complex negotiations even more complicated". 
 
 What would you like to know about the election results and what happens next? Let us know and the BBC will answer a selection. 
 
 Use this form to ask your question: ||||| 04:24 
 
 A t-shirt in support of Momentum, grassroots movement supportive of Jeremy Corbyn Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo 
 
 Momentum, the Labour organisation set up to support Jeremy Corbyn, hailed the results as a success for a superior ground game and campaign techniques deployed for the first time. 
 
 The 24,000-strong organisation helped mobilise activists in targeting marginals and exploit social media in support of the overall Labour campaign. 
 
 Adam Klug, Momentum’s national organiser, said: “The ground game was crucial to this in terms of mobilising and enthusing activists, many of them first-time canvassers. Momentum played a major part in this. 
 
 “I think it is the end of the old way of doing politics.” 
 
 While most of the media focus was on Corbyn, Labour was engaged in a largely unseen effort on the ground, using its large base of volunteers as a counter to the Conservatives’ higher spending. 
 
 Klug had been a primary teacher when he volunteered in 2015 to work in Corbyn’s first leadership contest and went on to work full-time for Momentum, which grew out of the campaign. 
 
 He and his colleagues have not yet celebrated. “We did not win,” said Klug, who said the organisation would continue campaigning, building for the next time. 
 
 Labour had won more seats than he had expected. Had all the speculation that Corbyn would have to resign or face another leadership challenge now gone? “I think definitely,” Klug said. 
 
 During the election, Momentum developed a tool to help direct volunteers to the nearest marginals: the site attracted 100,000 unique users. 
 
 
 
 “This was five times the size of Momentum. We reached out way beyond our bubble,” Klug said. 
 
 One in four UK Facebook users had viewed a Momentum video in the final week of the campaign, he said. They also developed an app to help people engage in phone-canvassing from their homes or anywhere else rather than go to phone banks. 
 
 With the help of about half a dozen volunteers from the Bernie Sanders campaign, it introduced techniques pioneered during the US campaign, with a big effort aimed at training canvassers. Three thousand came to training days throughout the UK, about two-thirds of them first-time canvassers, Klug said. 
 
 Momentum asked for volunteers to take Thursday off to get people to the polls. Klug said about 10,000 volunteered, knocking on an estimated 1.2m doors. ||||| A night of political shocks has seen a number of high profile figures lose their seats in the House of Commons. 
 
 Here's who has suffered defeat so far:
– She gambled on an early election—and she lost, big time. Theresa May and the Conservative Party have been dealt a huge blow in Britain's election, with the party losing its majority in Parliament after early predictions that it would gain as many as 80 seats. Full results have yet to arrive, but a hung parliament, in which no party has a majority, is now inevitable, reports the BBC. The Conservatives still have the most seats but Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party was the night's big winner, gaining more than 30 seats in Parliament, while the pro-Brexit United Kingdom Independence Party saw its share of the vote collapse. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party saw a fall in support, with former party leader Alex Salmond among those losing their seats. The latest: With Corbyn—and plenty of angry Conservatives—calling for her resignation, May signaled that she will stay on for now, Reuters reports. "At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability," she said early Friday after she was re-elected to her own seat in Parliament. The inconclusive election was result was seen as a disaster by negotiators in Brussels, where Brexit talks are due to begin within days, the Guardian reports. May, who wasn't required to hold an election until 2020, said her reason for calling one early was to secure a greater mandate for the talks. "Could be messy for the United Kingdom in the years ahead," tweeted former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt. "One mess risks following another. Price to be paid for lack of true leadership." Senior Conservative officials tell the Telegraph that May made "fundamental strategic errors" during the campaign. "This is bad, it's worse than bad. Her advisers should walk out of the door now never to return, regardless of the final result," one senior official says. Numerous senior Conservative MPs have lost their seats, including manifesto author Ben Gummer. The BBC looks at what is likely to happen now that a hung parliament has been confirmed. Unless she chooses to resign, May is expected to remain as prime minister while she attempts to form a coalition government with smaller parties. ITV looks at election night's biggest losers, including Nick Clegg. The former Liberal Democrat, deputy prime minister in the coalition government until the 2015 election, lost his seat to Labour challenger Jared O'Mara.