The Tories gained 96 seats, mostly in the counties surrounding London and in the south and southwest of England. They also made modest gains in the Midlands, the northwest and in Wales — not enough of a breakthrough in terms of the required nine percent swing to see them home with a working majority.
This means that no party has emerged with a decisive victory, and the political horse-trading started almost immediately behind the scenes.
Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown has not officially conceded defeat and in a statement outside No 10 Downing Street said Friday that he would be "willing to see any of the party leaders" to discuss how to proceed in government.
"What we have seen are no ordinary election results. We find ourselves in a position unknown to this generation of political leaders. (Tory leader) David Cameron and (Lib Dem leader) Nick Clegg should clearly be entitled to take as much time as they see necessary to consider their positions," stressed Brown.
The prime minister said he understood and "completely" respected the position of Clegg, who earlier stressed that Cameron had the moral right to see whether he can form a stable government because the Conservatives had gained the most seats.
The final result gave the Conservatives 306 seats with 36 percent of the popular vote; Labour 258 seats with 29 percent of the vote; the Lib Dems a disappointing 57 seats with 23 percent of the vote; and others 28 seats with 11.9 percent of the vote.
The remaining one seat will be decided later in the month — the poll in the Thirsk and Malton constituency had to be postponed to later this month due to the death of the UKIP candidate.
The exit polls for once were uncannily accurate, which prompted Cabinet Secretary Gus McDonald and senior civil servants to prepare for the constitutional eventuality of a hung parliament or coalition government.
Under UK constitutional convention the incumbent prime minister remains in power until a clear winner emerges with an overall majority, or in the case of a minority government, a would-be prime minister can muster a workable majority that would see his Queen's Speech (the government's policy agenda) winning the subsequent vote of confidence in the House of Commons.
If the Tories and Lib Dems can agree on a coalition or a working cooperation that would see a Cameron Queen's Speech through the Commons, then Gordon Brown would have no option but to hand in his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, who would then ask the Conservative leader to form the next government.
David Cameron, in response to Nick Clegg's overtures, made a "big, open and comprehensive offer" to the Liberal Democrats, so they would "work together to tackle (the UK's) big and urgent problems".
By late Friday afternoon, Cameron and Clegg had already spoken by the telephone to see whether a deal is possible. Both leaders would have to present any such deal to their backbenchers, who are divided on both sides.
Cameron in his offer ruled out any concessions on closer ties to Europe; any amnesty for illegal immigrants; and the cancellation of Britain's nuclear deterrent — three policy planks on which the two parties disagree fundamentally.
Another stumbling block is that of electoral reform, with the Liberal Democrats insisting on a fairer proportional representation (PR) system. Cameron has offered an all-party parliamentary probe into electoral reform without committing to PR.
If Cameron and Clegg fail to reach an agreement, it is possible for the Tories to try to rule as a minority government. However, Gordon Brown may still have the last laugh and a tenuous hold on No 10 Downing Street. He effectively offered Clegg the carrot of immediate legislation to hold a referendum on PR.
The danger for Clegg is that he may be seen as propping up a desperate prime minister who has lost the confidence of the British electorate.
