With more than 500 general election results in out of 650, the BBC is predicting a hung Parliament with the Tories as the largest party.
Labour cannot now win a majority, but it is not clear which party will be in a position to form a government.
Tory leader David Cameron said it was "clear that the Labour government has lost its mandate to govern".
Gordon Brown may start coalition talks with the Lib Dems, who, Nick Clegg admitted, had a "disappointing night" .
The BBC projection suggests David Cameron's Conservatives will have 306 seats. If there are 10 Unionists elected in Northern Ireland then Mr Cameron might be able to command 316 - probably still slightly too few for him to be sure of winning a Queen's Speech.
But Labour and the Lib Dems together would have 317 seats, according to the BBC figures, which even with three SDLP MPs would still leave them at 320 - again probably just a few votes short.
'Be patient'
Senior Labour figures have said that under the rules of Britain's constitution, the sitting prime minister in a hung parliament makes the first attempt at forming a ruling coalition.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said Mr Brown had returned to Number 10, and was going to rest and "catch his breath" adding: "We have to be patient for some time more."
"It's not possible to make definite claims or reach final conclusions about the outcome of the election because there are results still to come in," he said.
"You could say the electorate have voted for change but what they haven't done is voted decisively in favour of the Conservatives."
But shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said voters would not be "entirely happy" if Mr Brown "after a defeat like this, were to try to cling on and try to form some sort of coalition of the defeated, some sort of alliance of the dispossessed".
In other election night news:
* Northern Ireland's first minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson has been defeated in East Belfast by the Alliance party
* The Greens have gained their first MP at Westminster - party leader Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavillion
* Education secretary Ed Balls hung on in Morley and Outwood by just over 100 votes but former Home Secretary Charles Clarke narrowly lost to the Lib Dem candidate in Norwich South
* Jacqui Smith, who stood down as home secretary over her expenses, lost her Redditch seat to the Conservative but Hazel Blears retained her seat in Salford
* Labour's Margaret Hodge beat the BNP's Nick Griffin in Barking and Dagenham, with a 5% increase in her vote
* Esther Rantzen came fourth in Luton South, which went to the Labour candidate
* Lib Dem frontbencher Lembit Opik has lost his Montgomeryshire seat after suffering a 13.2% swing to the Conservatives
* There were angry scenes and calls for an inquiry after people were turned away from polling stations as long queues formed ahead of the 2200 BST voting deadline.
With most results in, the Lib Dem vote is up 0.9% on 2005, Labour down 6.5% and the Conservatives up 4%.
Turnout is running at 65.2%, a modest increase on the 2005 general election.
'New leadership'
After winning his Witney seat with an increased majority, Mr Cameron said it was clear from the results announced that the country wanted "change" and that would require "new leadership".
Promising to put the "national interest first", Mr Cameron said he would aim to bring about "strong, stable, decisive and good government".
Despite being on course to lose 90 Labour MPs, and with the party's lowest share of the vote since 1983, Gordon Brown vowed to play his part in Britain "having a strong, stable and principled government".
After winning his Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath seat, Mr Brown said he wanted that government to be able to lead Britain into "sustained recovery".
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was "reasonable and right" that parties attempted to work together to form a government in the event of a hung parliament.
'Too early'
He told BBC News: "As far as I can see, the exit poll projection suggesting that no party would win this election is being borne out.
"If indeed no party has won an absolute majority then it seems to me perfectly reasonable and right that parties should talk to each other to see if they can find common ground to establish a strong and stable government. There's no harm in that.
"It's a good thing to do when the voters have clearly not embraced any of us and given us the absolute majority that we are all seeking."
Mr Brown's spokesman said it was "too early to say" what he would do, but sources have indicated he is ready to embark on talks aimed at piecing together a coalition.
But as he was returned as MP for Sheffield Hallam Mr Clegg - whose popularity after the live TV debates has not been reflected in votes - said: "This has obviously been a disappointing night for the Liberal Democrats."
He said they "simply hadn't achieved what we hoped" but he was "proud of the way we conducted the campaign".
Amid speculation about whether the Lib Dems would side with Labour or the Conservatives in a hung parliament, he said politicians should not "rush into making claims or taking decisions which don't stand the test of time".
But he said his party would be "guided by the values and principles on which we fought this election".
The other big story of the night has been disturbances at polling stations in some parts of the country after higher than expected turnout led to lengthy queues.
Even before Houghton and Sunderland South became the first seat to declare there were widespread reports of people being unable to vote.
There could be legal challenges from candidates who have fallen a few votes short of victory and the Electoral Commission have launched an investigation.
In Sheffield, police were called to move people on when voters staged sit-in protests after waiting hours to vote. The city's returning officer apologised but said he had to close the polls at 2200 BST.
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8666128.stm
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