London - Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives looked on course Friday for a surprise victory in Britain's general election that could herald more economic austerity and redefine the country's future in Europe.
Exit polls upended pre-election forecasts of a knife-edge contest between the Conservatives and Labour, and also pointed to a landslide for Scottish nationalists that will reopen the question of Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom.
The pound rallied on currency markets as the poll commissioned by Britain's national broadcasters put the centre-right Conservatives on 316 seats, compared to 239 for Ed Miliband's centre-left Labour party.
One of the biggest losers of the night appeared to be the Liberal Democrats, who were in coalition with the Conservatives in the outgoing government but who were suffering a drubbing in early returns.
While they do not give the Conservatives a clear majority, if the results are borne out they could put Britain on a collision course with the European Union as Cameron has promised an in-out referendum on membership.
"If they are right, it will mean the Conservatives have clearly won," Michael Gove, a key ally of Cameron and chief whip in his government, told the BBC.
The first declared results showed Labour failing in key marginals and losing out to the pro-independence Scottish National Party, which was predicted to take all but one of the 59 seats north of the border.
One of its first lawmakers to be elected was 20-year-old Mhairi Black, Britain's youngest MP since 1667, who defeated Labour's campaign chief Douglas Alexander. The head of the Scottish Labour Party Jim Murphy also lost his seat to the SNP.
The Conservatives do not look to have the clear majority of 326 seats in the House of Commons but the results, if confirmed, would put Cameron in a strong position to remain in power, potentially as leader of a minority government working with smaller parties.
AFP
