British Prime Minister Vows to Carry on Despite Election Losses

Theresa May’s stated strategy of walking into Brexit talks and threatening to walk out again if she does not like what she hears is in tatters.

Her centre-right party came first but lost its majority in parliament, meaning it is likely to have to secure the support of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and its 10 extra seats to push it over the line.

With 649 of 650 seats in the House of Commons declared, May’s bruised Conservatives had 318 seats – short of the 326 they needed for an outright majority and well down from the 330 seats they had before May’s roll of the electoral dice.

Hence, Northern Ireland’s unionist parties might be the Tories’ preferred starting place, but it remains to be seen whether the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) combined can put a Conservative-led coalition over the hump. Like Trump, too, he defied his party establishment and has been richly rewarded for doing so.

During the campaign, she stepped up her rhetoric against the European Union, using a description of herself as a “bloody hard woman” to insist she would be tough in Brexit talks. There are calls within the Conservative Party for Mrs. “She did not get that and she’s a hugely diminished figure”.

She said that while the full results had yet to emerge, her party seemed to have won the most seats and “it would be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability”.

Instead, at the very least, Britain’s Brexit negotiators are likely to have to take a more consensual approach advocated by Labour and some Tory MPs.

Bookies have Ms May as favourite to remain leader in the event the Conservatives do go to a leadership ballot but the odds for Boris Johnson have been rising.

Siegfried Muresan, the spokesperson for the European Parliament’s largest party the EEP, tweeted some harsh words for May Friday.

“I would have thought that’s enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country”.

Moray is a seat with typically very strong pro-Brexit and anti-independence voting tendencies, which The Guardian suggests may have been a key factor in Robertson’s defeat.

The outcome was a significant political embarrassment for May, who called for an early election in April based on polls that showed the Conservatives would increase their majority and give her more clout in hard talks with the European Union on terms for exiting the political and economic alliance.

The prime minister was asked if the public could be certain her new Government could last five years with her as leader.

A bold plan to change the way elderly social care is funded had to be hastily amended after a backlash among older, mostly Conservative-backing voters, undermining her reputation for competence.

Most pronouncements from European politicians were bland statements of fact about the two-year Brexit process, which began when Mrs May triggered Article 50 of the EU treaty in March. Its positions are clearly laid down in Mr Barnier’s negotiating mandate, approved by the 27 governments some weeks ago.

French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile said he was “pleased that she would continue to be a close partner” and agreed their countries’ “strong friendship… was important and would endure”. Based on that, it looks like Scotland won’t be going anywhere soon. “We do want to provide some continuity to prove we can make this work“, he told the BBC.

While Labour earned less seats than the Conservatives, as expected, Mr Corbyn’s party outperformed the polls and prevented the Tories from winning an overall majority. The U.K. Independence Party is projected to win zero seats.

However, as their MPs don’t sit in parliament – they refuse to pledge allegiance to the Queen – their votes are worthless during potential coalition talks.

May has been pressing for a so-called “hard” Brexit, which would include leaving the EU’s massive collective market and no longer allowing European Union citizens to live and work freely in the United Kingdom. UPDATE: Weakened May to cling on after shock United Kingdom election result.The DUP have said they will work with the Conservatives, and Theresa May will attempt to remain in office.

As Prime Minister May’s future remains uncertain, one man who is nearly certain to put his hand up in the event of a leadership contest is Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.