What the hell does this election result mean for Brexit?

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By Katie King on

Social media rush as lawyers debate hung parliament’s impact

Lawyers of Twitter are head in hands this morning, as they mull over what a hung parliament means for the Brexit process.

Article 50 was triggered in March, signalling the formal beginning of our withdrawal from the European Union. Weeks later, Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap general election, hoping to strengthen her hand in our Brexit negotiations. It didn’t really go to plan.

Now, lawyers have flocked to social media to explain what this result means for the United Kingdom’s Brexit negotiations — and it’s not good.

To summarise an informative Twitter thread by legal journalist and solicitor David Allen Green, Article 50 is a “formal legal step” which sets off a two-year Brexit countdown. This window of negotiations can be extended if all other EU Member States agree, but this is “not easy”. He continued:

Other lawyers agreed with Green that the whole thing is “a mess”. Garden Court Chambers’ Colin Yeo commented:

The head of Durham Law School went for:

Like Green, Cambridge professor Kenneth Armstrong reminded tweeters that the Brexit clock is ticking. He commented:

While one barrister from Manchester set 9 St John Street said:

With all this Brexit confusion floating around, the profession is in a bit of a muddle. We wouldn’t be surprised if others echoed barrister Adam Wagner’s thoughts:

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