British luxury car maker Aston Martin has called on politicians to quickly provide rapid reassurances to business so they can continue to invest after a snap election gave no political party an overall majority in parliament.
"We cannot stress strongly enough the need for rapid and decisive policy direction to ensure that business can continue to invest for the long term growth and ensure the global competitiveness of the British economy," chief executive Andy Palmer said in a statement cited by Reuters on Friday.
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"Clarity over our relationship with Europe must be established quickly together with the wider reassurance to our key trading partners that Britain remains a dynamic and thriving business environment," he said.
As just-auto notes today, the publicly presented rationale for calling the general election was to seek a bigger majority for the governing Conservative party in the House of Commons to bolster the UK's Brexit negotiating position with the EU.
The slim majority that resulted from the 2015 election, political analysts said, emboldened dissenters or potential dissenters (whether from the left- or right-wing of the party) within the Conservatives' ranks of MPs. That, it was argued, could undermine the government's efforts at every turn in its hugely complex negotiations in Brussels. A bigger majority for the governing party would give dissenters less numerical leverage and leave the UK government with a stronger hand (and, perhaps, make it easier for London to offer concessions in order to secure a free trade deal).
The plan has backfired.
