Sunday

28th May 2023

UK election puts Brexit talks in doubt

  • May might have to fight for her own survival (Photo: Reuters/Peter Nicholls)

The British election has put in doubt Tory plans for Brexit talks and prime minister Theresa May’s continued leadership.

The surprise outcome, which saw the ruling Conservative Party lose its parliamentary majority, meant that the British public did not endorse its manifesto pledge to quit the EU single market, David Davis, the minister in charge of leaving the EU, said.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Corbyn-led coalition could call second EU referendum (Photo: Matthew Kirby)

“It [the manifesto] said we want to leave the customs union and single market, but get access to them, and to have a deep and special relationship with Europe”, Davis told the Sky News broadcaster at 2AM on Friday (9 June), as the Tory losses became clear.

"That’s what it was about. That’s what we put in front of the people. We’ll see tomorrow whether they’ve accepted that or not. That will be their decision,” he said.

The election outcome meant that the Conservatives must form a coalition with the DUP, a unionist party in Northern Ireland, to stay in power.

But the DUP’s conditions might also go against the Tory manifesto.

“No-one wants to see a ‘hard’ Brexit, what we want to see is a workable plan to leave the European Union, and that’s what the national vote was about”, DUP leader Arlene Foster told Sky News on Friday.

The hung parliament is likely to see the Brexit talks, which were due to start on 19 June, postponed.

It might also see May, who called the early election to boost her authority on Brexit, fight for her survival.

She said on Friday that “at this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability”, adding that her “resolve” to steer the UK through Brexit was “the same this morning as it has always been”.

Some Tory MPs backed her, with David Gauke, a treasury secretary, saying “given that we’ve got really important negotiations beginning in 10 days’ time” it was the party’s “responsibility … to support her”.

But others, such as Anna Soubry, said May was "in a very difficult place … she now has to obviously consider her position".

The opposition Labour Party, which gained dozens of seats on Thursday, also called for May to go.

"I was expecting Boris Johnson [the British foreign minister] to launch his leadership campaign tonight. But clearly not tonight, maybe tomorrow”, John McDonnell, a Labour MP, said.

One other scenario is a grand coalition involving the Labour Party, the Liberals, the Scottish National Party (SNP), Welsh party Plaid Cymru, and a Green MP.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has flip-flopped on Brexit, but for some eurosceptics, a Corbyn-led coalition posed the danger of a second referendum on EU membership.

“If tomorrow we finished up with Jeremy Corbyn forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and the SNP, I would assume the price would be a second referendum two years down the road”, Nigel Farage, the former leader of Ukip, an anti-EU party, said.

Ukip’s own vote collapsed on Thursday, with even its party leader, Paul Nuttal, failing to win a seat.

The SNP also lost seats to Labour, with Alex Salmond, the former Scottish first minister, among the victims.

The SNP had campaigned on a promise to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence in order to stay in the EU after the UK left.

“There was one big issue in this campaign … and the country’s reaction to that”, Ruth Davidson, a Scottish Tory MP, said.

Murdo Fraser, another Scottish Tory MP, said that the election result "knocks out the idea of a second independence referendum for a long, long time".

Brexit Briefing

May loses election bet

The British prime minister called the election to strengthen her grip on power ahead of Brexit talks. Her gamble could not have backfired more spectacularly.

May's Tories fail to secure majority

[Updated] British elections produce a hung parliament, with Conservatives failing to secure majority, while still being the largest party in the House of Commons.

EU leaders closing in on May

From warning about a delay for Brexit talks to calls for resignation, EU political leaders are putting pressure on the British prime minister.

Four MEPs elected in UK, one loses by 21 votes

Two Conservative and two Labour members will leave the European Parliament for the House of Commons. The chair of the committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection is now open.

Opinion

Britain preparing to jump off a cliff

Following the poor performance of Theresa May's Conservatives in the recent UK general election, her prospects of negotiating a good Brexit deal have gone from bad to worse.

Opinion

How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon

The EU led support for the waste management crisis in Lebanon, spending around €89m between 2004-2017, with at least €30m spent on 16 solid-waste management facilities. However, it failed to deliver.

Latest News

  1. How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon
  2. EU criminal complicity in Libya needs recognition, says expert
  3. Europe's missing mails
  4. MEPs to urge block on Hungary taking EU presidency in 2024
  5. PFAS 'forever chemicals' cost society €16 trillion a year
  6. EU will 'react as appropriate' to Russian nukes in Belarus
  7. The EU needs to foster tech — not just regulate it
  8. EU: national energy price-spike measures should end this year

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us