EXIT polls last night predicted the Tories would be the largest party in Westminster but without an overall majority, after one of the strangest election campaigns of modern times – the result of a gamble by their leader Theresa May.

The SNP were forecast to lose 22 seats, bringing their total in Scotland down to 34. The poll for the BBC, ITV and Sky forecast the Tories would have 314 seats – down 17, followed by Labour on 266, the SNP with 34, ahead of the LibDems who were forecast to return 14 MPs, Plaid Cymru three, the Greens one, Ukip none and others 18.

If the poll results are accurate there would be a hung parliament with the Tories 12 seats short of the 326 needed for an absolute majority in the Commons.

And it would signal a remarkable turnaround for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was well adrift of the Tories in polls throughout the campaign.

The polls continue to suggest a Tory lead, although the scale of the advantage in recent studies has ranged from a single point to a double-digit cushion for May.

Corbyn’s best hope may be a high turnout among young voters, especially in target seats.

The weather was thought unlikely to prove too much of a deterrent to voters, despite heavy rain across much of the country during the day.

Election expert Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said unless there was a major storm which disrupted transport links, turnout was unlikely to be affected: “We live in a country where a bit of drizzle is commonplace.”

Polling stations closed at 10 o’clock last night and the first Scottish results started coming in around 2am.

In the last election the SNP whitewashed the opposition to gain an historic 56 of Scotland’s 59 parliamentary seats and a repeat of a victory of that magnitude was thought to be unlikely. If borne out by the actual result though, the level of the drop would be a setback for Nicola Sturgeon.

The figures would also represent a humiliation for the Prime Minister, who went into the election with a small but viable majority and expectations that she should be able to secure an advantage of 100 seats or more in the House of Commons by going to the country early.

They would, however, be a personal triumph for Corbyn, who was widely regarded as having run a successful campaign after being written off as unelectable by many observers and by some in his own party.

It could throw the UK’s politics into disarray as the parties scramble to form a government, just 11 days before the expected start of Brexit negotiations in Brussels.

However, even after 30,000 voters were questioned at 144 polling stations, there is always a possibility that the exit polls may be misleading.

In 2015, they significantly underestimated the Tory tally, putting David Cameron’s party on 316 when it finally emerged with 331.

The election period saw two acts of horrific brutality disrupt the democratic process, with the Manchester Arena bombing and the London Bridge rampage changing the complexion of the campaign. People went to their polling stations amid heightened security as a result of the terror threat but Corbyn said voting was a way to “honour the victims of these atrocities” by “showing democracy that will never be cowed by terror”.