British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has won the most seats in the country's general election but failed to secure an overall majority. It is being seen as a major blow for May's leadership as she had called for early elections, claiming it was necessary to increase her parliamentary majority, in order to strengthen her hand during the negotiations with the EU over Brexit.

The results, which were foreshadowed by a shocking exit poll on Thursday, has plunged the country into political turmoil and could delay the complex Brexit talks, which had been expected to start around June 19.

With 643 of the 650 seats of the UK parliament counted, the Tories won 313 seats, down from 330 seats, while the opposition Labour Party, led by leftist Jeremy Corbyn, got 258, up from 229.

A total of 326 seats are needed for a single party to form a majority on its own. With the Conservatives failing to secure an overall majority, the country is now looking at a "hung Parliament," a situation similar to what happened during the 2010 general election.

The incumbent Prime Minister will stay in office until a decision is made over who will attempt to form a new government, however there are now calls for Theresa May to step down, as far from achieving a landslide victory as expected, the Conservatives have now lost their previous majority.