The UK election and its impact on the Brexit talks

AS the United Kingdom's general election campaign enters its final days, recent polls have shown the race tightening somewhat. However, the ruling Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to maintain or even extend its majority in the House of Commons on June 8. What is in doubt is the impact the election will have on the Brexit negotiations, which are set to begin in earnest 11 days after.

Pollsters say the most important issue for voters at the time the election was called was who should lead the Brexit negotiations. On that score, Mrs May currently has a great deal of public support, outpolling Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, by roughly three to one. The Conservatives have campaigned on the idea that the "strong and stable" Mrs May is better suited to the task of negotiating Brexit than Mr Corbyn is, and that with a narrow negotiating window ahead, now is not the time to change governments.

The conventional wisdom is that Mrs May, after surveying the political landscape, called an early election to increase the Tories' majority in order to improve her hand in Brexit negotiations. It is thought that this would strengthen her hand against a small group of Euro-sceptic Conservative Members of Parliament, who would gladly give up access to the single market of the European Union (EU) in exchange for control over the UK's borders and trade deals.