Brende: – daunting weeks ahead for Britain after the election

Børge BrendeBørge Brende ( Conservative Party ).

Brende: – daunting weeks ahead for Britain after the election

– This will be difficult for the United Kingdom, says Minister of Foreign Affairs, Børge Brende (Conservatives), after the Conservative’s election defeat in Britain.

 

– What the United Kingdom needs now is stability, because they have to go through some of its most daunting tasks – to leave the EU. And Prime Minister Theresa May wanted a large majority in Parliament to handle such a complex situation. This is after all the world’s fifth largest economy, and Norway’s most important trade partner, Brende tells NRK.

– This will be difficult for the UK, because I think we have only seen the tip of the iceberg as to how demanding it is to leave the EU. This will be difficult weeks for the UK and also more demanding than one had hoped for, he continues.

Even though the Conservatives got more votes than last time around, they lost the majority in Parliament due to the British election system – where the winner in each constituency takes all, even if it is by one vote only, which actually may be the case this time.

Election Defeat for the Scottish independence party

Both former leader, Alex Salmond, and current deputy leader in the Scottish independence party (SNP), Angus Robertson, lose their seats in the British Parliament.

Salmond, who has also been First Minister of Scotland, stood at the head of the first referendum on independence from Britain in 2014. He has now lost his seat in the British Parliament, as has the party’s deputy chairman Angus Robertson.

Party leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon nevertheless believe that her party has won the election, referring to Prime Minister Theresa Mays and the Conservatives’ Election defeat

The final figures are not yet clear, but according to exit polls are likely that the SNP get 34 seats in Parliament. There is a big drop from the current 56 seats of the total 59 seats that the Scots dispose.

The Conservatives in Scotland, led by Ruth Davidson, get eleven seats in Thursday’s election, according to polls. That is ten more than at the election two years ago.

Davidson says the result shows that Scotland does not want another referendum on independence from Britain.

– There was one major issue in this election campaign, and it was that Nicola Sturgeon tried to push for a referendum number two. The case is closed. That’s what happened in the election now, says Davidson.

It was expected in advance that Thursday’s election would be a disappointment for the SNP.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today