DAVID Cameron has vowed to govern for the whole of the United Kingdom as he returned to No 10 at the head of a majority Conservative government while the Scottish nationalists swept the board north of the border.

After a stunning election night for the Tories, the Prime Minister paid generous tribute to his defeated rivals Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg who both announced that they would be quitting as leaders of their parties.

Following an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace to confirm his second term in office, Mr Cameron returned to Downing Street with a pledge to restore unity to the country after a bruising five week campaign.

Speaking on the steps of No 10, Mr Cameron - who had repeatedly warned of the dangers of a Labour government propped up by the votes of the SNP - said he would press ahead with the promised further devolution to Scotland "as fast as I can".

"As we conduct this vital work we must ensure that we bring our country together. We will govern as a party of one nation, one United Kingdom," he said.

"It means bringing together the different nations of our United Kingdom. I have always believed in governing with respect.

"In this parliament I will stay true to my word and implement as fast as I can the devolution that all parties agreed for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland."

The Northern Echo:

The news that the Conservatives had passed the 326 mark needed for an outright Commons majority came as Mr Cameron was at the Palace for his audience with the Queen.

Earlier, addressing jubilant activists at Conservative Party headquarters, he hailed the result as the "sweetest victory of them all".

In what will go down as one of the biggest general election shocks since the Second World War , the Conservatives are projected to win 331 seats, with 232 for Labour, 56 for the SNP, eight for the Lib Dems and just one each for Ukip and the Greens.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls and Business Secretary Vince Cable were among the big name casualties on a crushing night for Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

An emotional Mr Miliband apologised to supporters after seeing his hopes of entering No 10 shattered as Labour was blown away north of the border by the nationalists while struggling to take any seats from the Conservatives.

"I am truly sorry that I didn't succeed. I have done my best for five years. Now you need to show your responsibility. Your responsibility not simply to mourn our defeat, but to pick ourselves up and continue the fight," he said.

Mr Clegg, who also announced his resignation, said he believed history would judge his party's time in government "kindly" while issuing a stark warning of the potentially "disastrous" legacy of a highly divisive election campaign.

"This now brings our country to a very perilous point in our history where grievance and fear combine to drive our different communities apart," he said.

"It's no exaggeration to say that in the absence of strong and statesman-like leadership, Britain's place in Europe and the world and the continued existence of our United Kingdom itself is now in grave jeopardy."

Ukip's Nigel Farage also announced he was quitting as leader of his party after failing to secure a Westminster seat in South Thanet - only to say that he could run again for the post in September.

While Mr Cameron was expected to announce the first appointments to his new Cabinet later today, the Labour and the Liberal Democrats face the prospect of lengthy and potentially bruising leadership contests.

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said that she would take up the reins as stand-in leader until a permanent successor was in place, at which point she would step down as deputy as well.

The Northern Echo:

With the Tories far outperforming expectations in an election which had been forecast to deliver another hung parliament, Mr Cameron will no longer have the buttress of a coalition with the Lib Dems and will have to govern with a slender majority.

The scene is set for a tricky few years for the Prime Minister, who will be vulnerable to rebellions by 30 to 40 Conservative backbenchers, who have already shown themselves ready to defy him on issues such as Europe and the family.

He will also be aware of potential successors manoeuvring to replace him after he his declaration prior to the election that this would be his final term as premier.

In Scotland, where shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy were among the casualties of the nationalist surge, former SNP leader Alex Salmond said there had been an "electoral tsunami".

Mr Salmond, who returns to Westminster as MP for Gordon, said: ''There's going to be a lion roaring tonight, a Scottish lion, and it's going to roar with a voice that no government of whatever political complexion is going to be able to ignore."

But the party was denied the clean sweep some had predicted north of the border, as the Liberal Democrats held Orkney and Shetland, Labour retained Edinburgh South, and David Mundell was returned as the only Tory MP in Scotland, holding on to Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.

The Northern Echo:

In the North-East, Labour won the first three seats of the night, as expected, in Sunderland.

The Sunderland results put Ukip on about 20 per cent share of the vote, suggesting that it is on the way to becoming the main opposition party to Labour in Labour's North-East heartland. The Sunderland results were also disastrous for the Lib Dems, with Mr Clegg's party losing its deposits.

Conservative James Wharton held on to his seat in Stockton South, turning 332 into a 5,000 majority, while Jenny Chapman in Darlington, Helen Goodman in Bishop Auckland, Phil Wilson in Sedgefield and Alex Cunningham in Stockton North all held their seats for Labour.

There was a small glimmer of joy for the party in Redcar where Anna Turley took the seat off the Lib Dems.