ELECTION RESULTS… IS THE FUTURE STILL BRIGHT?

As at 10.45am  on Friday 9 June, Theresa May seeks to form a new Government. What does this mean for business?

Theresa May called the snap election to strengthen her hand at the Brexit negotiations because she felt she needed a larger majority.  The gamble didn’t pay off and inadvertently what this election seems to have done is compounded the uncertainty of the current economic and political climate.  Theresa May could have done more to win the election if she hadn’t taken a win for granted.  Jeremy Corbyn on the other hand has managed to bring a level of energy which was unexpected and has come across quite resilient.  Labour seems to be a stronger party and far more organised than they were in the last election.

So what does this mean for businesses?  Business will undoubtedly suffer in the short term and we have already seen a devalued Sterling which may make it more attractive for Europe to do business with the UK.  Will Europe want to make huge capital investments with Brexit negotiations not having really started?  Time will tell.

Any new Government needs to get their act together very quickly.  Whether this means a coalition or the Conservatives ploughing ahead with a minority Government will depend on Theresa May’s attitude towards this election result.  The Government will have the difficult task of balancing stability, trying to obtain the best possible ‘Brexit deal’ which makes it attractive to do business in the UK and how to make the UK a safer place to live.

At Pattersons Commercial Law, having spoken to many business connections this morning, we have formed the opinion it is very much business as normal and the transactions we are working on are very much being driven by an optimistic outlook on the future.  In fact, by 10.30am, we secured two new instructions to buy UK based businesses.

In times of political uncertainty, there can be light.