The Latest: Top EU official says result ‘another own goal’
LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Britain’s parliamentary election (all times local):
9:25 a.m.
The European Parliament’s top Brexit official called the British election result “yet another own goal” for the Conservative Party and said it will make “already complex negotiations even more complicated.”
In a statement to The Associated Press, the legislature’s Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt quipped: “I thought surrealism was a Belgian invention.”
Last year, then Conservative prime minister, David Cameron, called the Brexit referendum last year with the aim of staying in. This year, Theresa May called the early election in hopes of increasing her majority ahead of discussions over the country’s exit from the EU.
He said it was yet “another own goal, after Cameron now May.”
Verhofstadt said he hoped Britain would soon have a “stable government to start negotiations,” which are important for the future of Europe too.
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9:20 a.m.
The pound has fallen further after British election results showed the Conservative party lost its majority.
The British currency lost as much as 3 cents against the dollar late Thursday and early Friday, to fall as low as $1.2636 in Asian trading hours after the final results started trickling in.
It recovered somewhat to trade at $1.2677 but remained well short of the $1.2955 level before the exit poll was published late Thursday.
With most seats counted, it’s become clear the Conservatives are unable to win the 326 seats needed for an outright majority. Investors worry a minority Conservative government would be weaker in Brexit talks, scheduled to begin June 19.
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8:50 a.m.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says he is “ready to serve” the country while ruling out potential deals or pacts with other parties in Parliament.
Speaking after a successful election for Labour which saw Prime Minister Theresa May lose her majority in the House of Commons, Corbyn said people have had enough of austerity politics and cuts in public expenditures.
He repeated calls for May to resign. May had called the early election in hopes of increasing her majority. Instead, her Conservative Party lost its majority and Labour claimed a haul of seats.
He says “politics has changed. Politics is not going back into the box where it was before.”
Corbyn also says that upcoming discussions over Britain’s exit from the EU have to continue regardless of which party forms the next government.
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8:45 a.m.
The European Union’s budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger says the outcome of the British election calls into question whether Brexit negotiations will be able to start as planned and will certainly complicate the process.
Speaking Friday morning by phone on Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio, Oettinger said the EU is prepared to stick to the negotiation timetable but that it would take a few hours at least to see how the results of the election play out in the formation of a government.
He says “without a government, there’s no negotiation.”
He says the election was not a referendum on Brexit and that he fully expected the process to continue, but that results could make negotiations more difficult.
He says “with a weak negotiating partner, there’s the danger that the negotiations will go badly for both sides.”
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8:10 a.m.
France’s prime minister says he doesn’t believe the surprise British election result means the country has changed its mind over its decision to leave the European Union.
Speaking Friday on Europe 1 radio, Edouard Philippe conceded that “the tone” of Brexit negotiations may be affected by British Prime Minister Theresa May’s failure to secure a parliamentary majority.
However, he said he was skeptical to conclude that “Britons’ sovereign decision on Brexit has been cast into doubt in any way.”
Discussions, he added, will be “long” and “complex.”
“So let’s not kid ourselves.”
Discussions between the British government and the EU are formally set to begin later this month.
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7:55 a.m.
Britain’s news media says Theresa May has no intention of giving up the post of prime minister even though her Conservative Party lost its majority in the House of Commons in Thursday’s general election.
Mays’ future as leader and head of the Conservative Party is being openly questioned after her call to hold a snap election backfired.
May called the election in hopes of increasing her majority in order to give her a stronger hand in negotiations with the European Union over Britain’s exit. However, with nearly all votes counted, the Conservatives are on 315 seats, short of the 326 mark that ensures a majority. The Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, did much better than most forecasters predicted, and has 261 seats at last count.
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6 a.m.
British media are reporting that Conservatives can no longer win an outright majority in Parliament.
Sky News reported early Friday that Labour held the seat of Southampton Test, guaranteeing that no party will reach the 326 seats necessary for an overall majority in the 650-seat Parliament.
The result will heap pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May to resign, after she called a snap election in the hope of increasing the Conservative majority in Parliament to strengthen her position in Brexit negotiations.
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5:20 a.m.
Britain’s home secretary has narrowly avoided defeat in the general election, holding on to her seat in Parliament by 346 votes after a recount.
In the 2015 election, Amber Rudd won the Hastings and Rye seat in southern England by almost 5,000 votes. But the governing Conservative Party has suffered big losses in the election and is on the verge of losing its parliamentary majority.
Several government ministers have lost their seats.
The result will heap pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May to resign, and many consider Rudd a potential Conservative leader.
She is regarded as having performed well during the campaign, which was marred by deadly attacks in Manchester and London. As home secretary, Rudd is in charge of the police and security services and helped lead the response to the attacks.
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