Senior figures in Europe have been pondering how the result of Theresa May’s election gamble will affect the Brexit negotiations. The newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said that the European Commission views the election result as a sign that most Brits don’t desire a ‘hard exit’ from the EU. The European Commissioner, Günther Oettinger, has reportedly said that it may now be possible to discuss ‘closer relations’ between the UK and the EU than Mrs May had originally planned. However Wycombe MP Steve Baker, a committed Christian and one of the most vocal Eurosceptic Tory MPs, was moved in the cabinet reshuffle to an important role in the Brexit department. The choice of Mr Baker is likely to anger those hoping the election result would force Mrs May to adopt a more conciliatory tone on Brexit and drop threats to leave the EU without a trade deal. See also