Cameron promises “one nation” Britain

David Cameron has said he will use his second term as Prime Minister to reach out to all constituent parts of the UK and “bring the country together” in the wake of the SNP’s landslide in Scotland.

The Conservatives have 331 seats, which gives them a Commons majority of five, the first time they have controlled the house since 1992.

Speaking outside Downing Street this afternoon, Cameron said: "We will govern as a party of one nation, one United Kingdom.

"That means ensuring this recovery reaches all parts of our country, from north to south, to east to west."

He pledged to carry out his promise of further devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, adding Scotland would have “the strongest devolved parliament in the world”.

London mayor Boris Johnson, who will return to Westminster as an MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, said Scotland should be offered a form of federalism. "Everybody needs to take a deep breath and think about how we want the UK to progress,” he said.

The Conservative victory confounded predictions from all opinion polls and analysts which showed a much tighter contest. Pollster body the British Polling Council has said it will launch an inquiry into the lack of accuracy of the predictions across the board.

The final seat tally was Conservative 331, Labour on 232, the SNP on 56, and the Liberal Democrats and DUP on eight each. The UK Independence party polled 3.8m votes but only ended up with one seat, while Green MP Caroline Lucas increased her majority in Brighton to 7,967.

The SNP’s landslide in Scotland is unprecedented, winning 50 per cent of the vote, with large swings in key Labour seats, the biggest being 39.3 per cent in Glasgow North East. First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said the result was beyond her “wildest dreams”.

"The tectonic plates of Scottish politics shifted yesterday - it is a historic result," she said.

Labour leader Ed Miliband, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and UKIP leader Nigel Farage all resigned.