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British Prime Minister Vows to Carry on Despite Election Losses

She acknowledged her sadness at the loss of her majority in the general election in a statement to broadcasters

British Prime Minister Theresa May vowed Friday to form a government and carry on separating the U.K. from Europe despite her party losing its majority in Parliament in Thursday's snap election.

May visited Queen Elizabeth II and announced her plan to form a coalition government between her Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. Together, the two parties will have a narrow majority in Parliament.

Standing in front of 10 Downing Street, May said her Conservatives and the DUP will work together to "fulfill the promise of Brexit."

"The government I lead will put fairness and opportunity at the heart of everything I do, so that we will fulfill the promise of Brexit together," May said, adding that "what the country needs more than ever is certainty."

May called the early election in hopes of getting an increased majority that could have strengthened her hand in Britain's exit talks with the EU, with negotiations beginning in 10 days, but she saw her majority evaporate completely. The result leaves her fortunes as party leader and prime minister hanging by a thread.

She acknowledged her sadness at the loss of her majority in the general election in a statement to broadcasters on Friday.

Visibly exhausted, May said that she obviously "wanted a different result" in Thursday's vote and that she is "sorry for all those colleagues who lost their seats who didn't deserve to lose."

May said that "of course I'll reflect on what happened."

With 649 of 650 seats in the House of Commons declared, May's bruised Conservatives had 318 — short of the 326 they needed for an outright majority and well down from the 330 seats they had before the vote.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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