THERESA May will seek to stay on as Prime Minister and Tory leader despite failing to win a majority after her decision to hold a snap election backfired.

Mrs May will visit Buckingham Palace at 12.30pm to seek permission to form a UK government, despite losing her Commons majority.

Jeremy Corbyn has urged her to quit, saying Labour is "ready to serve".

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As yesterday's poll ended in a hung parliament, with no party holding an absolute majority in the House of Commons, Mrs May pledged the Tories would offer "stability" as the largest party with the most votes.

But Jeremy Corbyn said it was clear Labour had won the election and "we are ready to serve this country".

The Prime Minister's situation appeared precarious as Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto after choosing to go to the country three years early in the hope of extending her majority.

Closer to home, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron and MPs John Woodcock and David Morris managed to hold on to their seats in Cumbria and north Lancashire but with much-reduced majorities.

Mr Farron retained his Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency by just 777 votes - down from 8,949 in 2015. The acting returning officer agreed to a bundle check given the small margin between the Liberal Democrat leader and Conservative James Airey.

The Barrow and Furness seat was also hotly contested. John Woodcock retained his position as MP, gaining 22,592 votes. But the margin with Conservative Simon Fell was so close at just 209 votes, it demanded a recount.

In Morecambe and Lunesdale, Conservative David Morris's majority fell from 4,590 to 1,399. The Tories secured 21,773 votes this time round, with Vikki Singleton, of Labour, managing 20,374 votes to come a close second.

Meanwhile, in traditional Tory heartlands Penrith and the Border, Skipton and Ripon, and Richmond, all three MPs were re-elected with comfortable majorities.

Rory Stewart retained Penrith and the Border with 28,078 votes, almost 16,000 votes more than the Labour candidate.

Julian Smith strolled home in Skipton and Ripon, notched up 36,425 votes - beating his 30,248 total in 2015.

And in Richmond, Rishi Sunak secured 36,458 votes, with Labour candidate Dan Perry managing 13,350.

Tory sources have indicated Mrs May will continue in Number 10 on the basis of the general election result. "Certainly that's what's expected," a source said.

With 649 out of 650 constituencies declared, the Tories had 318 seats - making it impossible to achieve the 326 necessary for an outright majority - Labour 261, the SNP 35 and the Liberal Democrats 12.

The Democratic Unionist Party, which increased its representation at Westminster from eight to 10, could potentially support Mrs May - but leader Arlene Foster said it was "too soon to say" what would happen and it will be "difficult" for the Prime Minister to continue in her role.

Any attempt by Mrs May to soldier on leading a minority administration would be made easier with the support of the DUP, and the assumption that Sinn Fein will not take up the seven seats it won.

But Ms Foster would not be drawn on any deal: "I certainly think that there will be contact made over the weekend but I think it is too soon to talk about what we're going to do."

Asked if she thought Mrs May would be able to stay in her job, the DUP leader told the BBC: "I don't know", adding: "I think it will be difficult for her to survive".

That view was echoed by former chancellor George Osborne, sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May and now editor of the Evening Standard, told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

After a dramatic night:

:: Mrs May's party had 42.4 per cent of the vote while Labour's share had increased by almost 10 points from its 2015 level to 40.06 per cent.

:: The pound plummeted as the shock figures set the scene for political turmoil at Westminster, disruption to upcoming Brexit negotiations and the possibility of a second election later in the year.

:: The night was marked by a collapse in Ukip support and a rash of high-profile losses for the SNP, as British politics returned to a two-party system on the greatest scale since the 1970s.

:: The Tories lost eight frontbenchers, with ministers Jane Ellison, Simon Kirby, Gavin Barwell, James Wharton, Nicola Blackwood, Rob Wilson and Edward Timpson going, along with Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer, the author of the widely criticised Tory manifesto.

A silver lining for the Tories came as former London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith returned in Richmond Park with a majority of just 45 some six months after losing it to the Liberal Democrats.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has resigned after suffering humiliation in Boston & Skegness, where he came in a distant third, and the Eurosceptic party lost its only Westminster seat in Clacton.

High-profile casualties of a night of shock defeats included Liberal Democrat former leader and ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in Sheffield Hallam, Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond in Banff & Buchan and the SNP's leader in Westminster Angus Robertson in Moray.

Speaking as she was re-elected MP for Maidenhead, Mrs May said: "At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability."

As the party with the most seats and votes she said "it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do".

But asked if Mrs May could remain as Tory leader, Ms Soubry told the BBC: " She's a remarkable and very talented woman and she doesn't shy away from difficult decisions, but she now has to obviously consider her position."

Brexit Secretary David Davis said he would "fight tooth and nail" to keep Mrs May in post, and dismissed suggestions he might be a contender to replace her.

"The simple truth is we have a Prime Minister, she is a very good leader, I'm a big supporter of hers," Mr Davis told the Press Association.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, often tipped as a potential successor to Mrs May as Tory leader, said: "We've got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns."

Liberal Democrats were celebrating the return of former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Sir Ed Davey and Jo Swinson two years after they lost their parliamentary seats.

Julian Smith strolled home as MP for Skipton and Ripon by smashing his previous poll by over 6,000 votes.

But the national picture looks bleaker for his party, with Theresa May's election gamble seemingly having backfired, with a hung Parliament now certain.

After a long night at the count in Skipton Town Hall Mr Smith had notched up 36,425 votes beating his 30,248 total in 2015.

His nearest rival, Alan Woodhead, fighting his first battle in Skipton and Ripon, saw the Labour count increase by an even bigger margin. He polled 16,440, over 7,000 more than the Labour candidate at the last general election.