Let's suppose that one party (it doesn't matter which) gets a majority of just one seat.

As the election WILL NOT be fully decided tonight (because polling in one constituency - Thirsk and Malton - has been delayed until 27 May because of the death of one of the candidates during the campaign) - what happens?

They will probably look at the swing in the area and the expected result and base any decisions on that. They certainly wont wait until 27 May to claim a victory Good question though - and if that happens then you can claim to be a bit of a Prophet

Do you mean a majority of one seat before that final result? It would be up to the various actors involved. The most likely move would be for the largest party to go ahead, either discussing a coalition or alliance with another party, or just asking the Queen to accept them formally as the new Government and struggle ahead.

If you mean that final result delivered the majority to one party, I guess before that everyone would just wait. Again, the technical role of royal prerogative means that, if all key figures were so minded, the monarch could intervene to organise/oversee an interim custodial adminsitration for important outstanding business, but it's so vague constitutionally the likelihood is it would just carry on as it did during the campaign.

Of course, in an ideal world it will be a dead heat and, on revealing the Thirsk and Malton vote, the dead candidate will be found to have won.

Prunella Minge wrote:
Do you mean a majority of one seat before that final result? It would be up to the various actors involved. The most likely move would be for the largest party to go ahead, either discussing a coalition or alliance with another party, or just asking the Queen to accept them formally as the new Government and struggle ahead.

I meant that after tonight's results - from 649 constituencies - if one party won by one seat, could that party claim victory as technically that one seat "victory" could be overturned / neutralised by the result on May 27th.

Very unlikely, I know, but interesting.

In The Know wrote:
Prunella Minge wrote:
Do you mean a majority of one seat before that final result? It would be up to the various actors involved. The most likely move would be for the largest party to go ahead, either discussing a coalition or alliance with another party, or just asking the Queen to accept them formally as the new Government and struggle ahead.

I meant that after tonight's results - from 649 constituencies - if one party won by one seat, could that party claim victory as technically that one seat "victory" could be overturned / neutralised by the result on May 27th.

Very unlikely, I know, but interesting.

Oh right. The answer's 'No' then!

My "hypothetical" question may not be so hypothetical after all !

The seat that will not vote till May 27th is Malton, North Yorks ... a very rural area and very likely to be Tory (esp as the rest of the area is now also Tory), so if the Toies need every seat they can get (as looks likely) then they may have one extra seat "up their sleeves".