LONDON: Results have started coming in for Britain?s snap election with Prime Minister Theresa May poised for victory but losing her parliamentary majority.

The exit poll showed May's Conservatives on course to fall from 330 to 314 seats, short of an overall majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two deadly terror attacks.

The main opposition Labour party, led by leftist Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile is projected to increase its number of seats from 229 to 266, according to the joint exit poll by Sky, the BBC and ITV news.

The pound immediately tumbled after the poll.

The election came at a pivotal time in British history as it negotiates a complicated exit from the European Union, the first country to leave the six-decade-old bloc.

The pro-European Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned for a second referendum that could keep Britain in the EU, were forecast to increase their seats from nine to 14.

In Scotland, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for independence to avoid a "hard Brexit", her Scottish National Party was tipped to lose seats but still dominate.

All parties urged caution at the shock poll, with the final results not likely until early on Friday morning.

An exit poll gives an indication of the outcome, although final results will not emerge until early Friday.

In 2005 and 2010, the exit poll accurately forecast the number of seats won by the largest party. In 2015, it slightly underestimated the number of seats won by the victorious Conservatives but got the order of the parties right.

The forecast Conservative victory is far smaller than suggested by opinion polls when she called the snap election at a time when her popularity was running high.

Analysts had blamed the decline on May´s botched announcement of a reform in funding for elderly care, a strong grassroots campaign by Corbyn and the terror attacks, which have led to scrutiny of her time as interior minister before becoming prime minister.

Security for voting day was reviewed following the recent London attack, which left at least eight dead, with the city's Metropolitan Police force implementing a "specialist and highly flexible operation" which it said could be deployed as needed.

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS SAY "VERY DIFFICULT TO JOIN COALITION 

Britain's Liberal Democrat party would find it very difficult to join a coalition again after suffering severe damage from its deal with the Conservatives after the 2010 election, former leader Menzies Campbell said on Thursday.

"(Party leader) Tim Farron made it very clear. He said no pact, no deal, no coalition. We´ve had our fingers burnt by coalition, I don´t need to tell you that. I find it very, very difficult to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what he previously said," Campbell told the BBC.

Exit polls suggest the Liberal Democrats will increase their number of seats in Britain´s 650-member parliament to 14. The results of the exit poll show that Prime Minister Theresa May´s Conservative Party looks short of an outright majority.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who came into power without a national vote last year after David Cameron´s resignation following the Brexit vote, called for a three-year-early election for June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by bolstering support for her Brexit plan.

If May does not handsomely beat the 12-seat majority her predecessor Cameron won in 2015, her electoral gamble will have failed. When she called the election, polls showed she was as much as 23 percentage points ahead. However, the lead has shrunk substantially since then. 

CORBYN SAYS HIS CAMPAIGN 'CHANGED POLITICS'

The head of Britain´s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, on Friday said the country´s political landscape had been upended in a general election forecast to result in a hung parliament.

"Whatever the final result, our positive campaign has changed politics for the better," Corbyn said in a tweet. An exit poll predicted unexpected gains for Labour in Thursday´s vote, causing Prime Minister Theresa May to lose her overall majority.

MAY, CORBYN CAST VOTES

Earlier today, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn cast his vote at the Pakeman primary school in Holloway, North London.

The politician appeared to be in an amiable mood as he smiled and waved to the media.

Speaking to the press, he said ?Thank you very much, all of you, for coming here today. It?s a day of our democracy. I?ve just voted. I?m very proud of our campaign. Thank you very much.?

On the other hand, clad in white-and-black May also cast her vote at a polling station in Sonning, Berkshire.

According to media reports, she just greeted the media with a simple ?hello? unlike her opponent.

She was also holding a polling card in her hand even though voters didn?t need to show up with one to vote.  

BRITISH-PAKISTANI CONTESTING POLLS 

More than 40 men and women of Pakistani origin have taken part in the elections. Of these, around 31 are from the mainstream parties such as Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats while the rest are from smaller parties or contesting as independents.

Research by Geo News correspondents showed that the Labour Party has given tickets to 13 British Pakistanis; Liberal Democrats to 11 candidates; six candidates for the Conservative; one from Scottish National Party (SNP); three for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and one for the Green Party.

Labour has given tickets to the highest number of candidates with a high chance of winning on safe Labour strongholds or relatively safe seats. 

'LITTLE CONFIDENCE'

It is the third time Britain has gone to the polls in two years, twice for a general election and once for the EU referendum, and voter fatigue appeared to be an issue among the early voters.

"I don´t think it has really been a campaign, we don´t know anything about what they are going to do about Brexit, it´s been pointless really," said Joe Kerney, 53, at a polling station in Hackney, east London.

"I have little confidence in anybody," added voter Simon Bolton, 41. "I think we lack quality in terms of who we can choose, it is very limited."

The election was May's first since taking office after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.