The UK is set to leave the European Union in less than two years, usually referred to as Brexit.
In an effort to strengthen her mandate in negotiating the exit process, Prime Minister Theresa May called early elections, only to result in the ruling Conservative Party losing its majority.
With May’s electoral gamble backfiring, does she still have a mandate? What does this mean for Brexit and the future of the UK?
“To change the leader of the party now would simply be to pile on the chaos,” says Norman Lamont, an ardent Brexit supporter and former chancellor of the exchequer, who believes May’s re-election, despite the loss of her majority, affirms her mandate. “We have a system in this country, an electoral system, winner takes all.”
“I think the consequences of Britain leaving the EU, provided we have a satisfactory negotiation, will not be unfavourable,” says Lord Lamont. “I think it will not actually make as dramatic a difference as people think.”
In this week’s Headliner, elder statesman and leading eurosceptic Norman Lamont defends the Conservative Party and its plans for Brexit.