LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May lost her parliamentary majority on Friday after a surprisingly poor election performance, throwing her future into doubt.
Below are comments from members of May’s Conservative Party on her position:
JACOB REES-MOGG, EUROSCEPTIC LAWMAKER
“I think Mrs May will have a good deal of support. She’s only been the leader for under a year, she got it without any opposition, an uncontested election with support up and down the country. I don’t think the Conservative Party is so fickle, or such a fair-weather friend as it would not continue to back the prime minister.”
ANNA SOUBRY, PRO-EUROPEAN LAWMAKER
“She’s in a very difficult place, she’s a remarkable and a very talented woman and she doesn’t shy from difficult decisions, but she now has to obviously consider her position.”
“Theresa did put her mark on this campaign, she takes responsibility as she always does, and I know she will, for the running of the campaign. It was tightly knit group, and it was her group that ran this campaign.”
“I’m afraid we ran a pretty dreadful campaign, that’s probably me being generous.”
“The change of heart on social care … it did not make her look the strong and stable prime minister and leader that she had said that she was. That was a very difficult and very serious blow in terms of her own credibility.”
IAIN DUNCAN SMITH, FORMER CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER
“I just want some stability. She is prime minister, she remains prime minister and the country has to come first.”
ED VAIZEY, FORMER CULTURE MINISTER
“I think she can hold on … going into a hung parliament, to lose our prime minister would be disastrous.”
“If she wants to stay on as leader I would support her.”
(Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)
