The Conservative Party’s disappointing election result has increased pressure on British Prime Minister Theresa May to take a more conciliatory approach to Brexit, former PM David Cameron said Tuesday, according to the Financial Times.
âI think there will be pressure for a softer Brexit,â Cameron said at a conference in Poland, before adding May would “have to talk more widely, listen to other parties,” as a result of losing her parliamentary majority in last week’s poll.
Britain’s parliament “deserves a say” on Brexit, added Cameron, a Tory prime minister from 2010 to 2016.
The former PM said the success of the Conservatives in Scotland, where they picked up 13 seats, pointed to a potential change of direction for the party.
âThereâs no doubt that there is a new player on the stage,â Cameron said, referring to Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson. âScotland voted against Brexit. I think most of the Scottish Conservatives will want to see perhaps some changes with the policy going forward.â
Cameron said the election result was not a signal for his old party to ditch austerity policies.
“If you leave your country with a ratio of debt to GDP which is too high, the next storm that comes along â and there will be a storm, there always is, we havenât abolished boom and bust, we havenât abolished trade cycles â the next storm that comes along will knock you over,â he said.
Ken Clarke, a senior Conservative politician and former chancellor of the Exchequer, told BBC Radio 4 Wednesday morning, that âthere is no doubtâ that Britain will leave the union.
âMacron is wrong, we are destined to leave the EU,â he said, referring to remarks from the French President who said the âdoor is still openâ for the U.K. to remain in the EU.
When asked if Theresa May has the skills to continue as prime minister, he said: âI canât see anyone else who could take over.â Clarke was caught on camera last year describing May as a âbloody difficult woman,” meaning that she was not an easy colleague to work with.