'Hung Parliament' trends in Britain

The exit poll left Twitter stunned.

The hashtag "Hung Parliament" shot to the top of Twitter's list of top UK trends after the general election exit poll predicted that the Conservatives would lose their overall majority. More than 70,000 messages were posted in under an hour.

Many commentators anticipated a large Conservative majority before the election, but the exit poll actually suggested the Tories would lose seats.

Twitter users across the political spectrum were shocked by the news:

Even some Labour candidates were surprised:

Google reported a spike in election-related queries. Among the top trending questions was "What is a hung parliament?"

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The 2015 exit poll pointed to a surprise Conservative surge, compared to pre-election polling.

With the official results yet to be tallied, Twitter users have been keen to point out the contrast between two years ago and the exit poll this time around:

Many Labour supporters are jubilant, even though their party is predicted to win 48 fewer seats than the Conservatives:

Whereas many Conservatives are stunned:

Others are highlighting the political problems that might be posed by a hung parliament, and speculation about a second snap election has already started.

And plenty of people are making plans to stay up through the night:

Blog by Sam Bright

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