Free Republic

Prime Minister Theresa May was fighting to hold on to her job on Friday as British voters dealt her a punishing blow, denying her the stronger mandate she had sought to conduct Brexit talks and instead weakening her party's grip on power. With no clear winner emerging from Thursday's parliamentary election, a wounded May signaled she would fight on, despite being on course to lose her majority in the House of Commons. Her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn said she should step down.

The Conservatives are set to be the largest party in the UK parliament, but without an overall majority, says the latest BBC forecast. It shows gains for the Labour Party after Thursday's general election. This would be a humiliation for Prime Minister Theresa May, who chose to call the election to try to strengthen her hand in talks with the EU on Brexit. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged her to resign, but she said her party would "ensure" stability in the UK.

Germany has delivered an ominous message to British negotiators in impending Brexit talks by insisting that even the worst-case scenario would be bearable for the EU. Germany’s Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said Friday that “even in the most adverse case,” Brexit would be “bearable for the EU economy and in particular for the German economy.” Zypries said that a new study by Germany’s ifo institute, commissioned by her ministry, pointed to “economic opportunities and risks.” While Zypries said Germany would seek “the best results” from talks, her appraisal of a bearable hard Brexit is bad news for hardline Brexiteers. They...

The tide could be turning against Brexit: for the first time since the referendum, more people have Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU. In a poll by YouGov for the Times newspaper, 45% of respondents said Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU. 43% said Britain was right to leave, while 12% answered ‘don’t know’.

Britain is on course for a "decade of disruption" in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union, a report has warned. Brexit has delivered a "profound shock" to the UK's political and economic order which is likely to damage growth and living standards until 2030, according to centre-left think tank IPPR. The report said the upheaval comes at a time when Britain's rapidly ageing population threatens to put new strains on the state, with the funding gap for adult social care expected to hit £13bn by 2030-31. It said: "Brexit is the firing gun on a decade...