Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond acknowledged that last week’s botched national election had created uncertainty for investors, but said he hoped they would bide their time until there was clarity on the new government.
“We’ve made it clear to markets and the business community that we will try to generate as much clarity as is possible as soon as we can,” Hammond told Reuters.
Sterling sank to a seven-month low against the euro on Monday as investors worried a period of political uncertainty would further weaken an economy slowing sharply before the launch of talks on leaving the European Union next week.
Despite her party’s expectations of a landslide victory, Prime Minister Theresa May lost her majority in parliament, pushing her into rushed talks on a support agreement with a small eurosceptic Northern Irish Protestant party with 10 parliamentary seats.
Hammond also said that the agenda of opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was deeply flawed. It was a criticism of the Conservative Party that these flaws were not made more explicit in the election campaign, he added.