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Amanpour
UK PM's Future Uncertain After Election Gamble; Brexit Talks Set to Begin in 10 Days; EU Leaders Fear Election Impact on Brexit. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired June 09, 2017 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:09] CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Tonight, live from Westminster, Prime Minister Theresa May remains defiant, brushing aside a
huge setback.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I will now form a government, a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this
critical time for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Reaction from Conservative MP Crispin Blunt. He joins us live.
Also, how will a shock election result impact Brexit negotiations starting in just 10 days? We get reaction from Germany.
And Theresa May is forming a government with the help of the DUP in Northern Island. Who are they and what do they want in return?
Something to cheer amid the chaos, a record number of women MPs win seats.
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the program. I'm Christiane Amanpour, outside parliament in London.
She promised strength and stability, but delivered precisely the opposite. And now Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is apologizing for losing her
Tory Party's all-important parliamentary majority in an election that she didn't need to call. But she did get most votes and she is determine to
form a government with an obscure party in Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party.
May says she called this election to win a stronger hand for the Brexit negotiations. And in just a moment, I'll be speaking to a top Tory about
that. But, first, CNN's Nick Glass takes a look back at the dramatic events of the day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Solemn, if not grim faced. Her prepared statement just 2-1/2 minutes long, nothing ad lib and no
reference to the overnight election trauma.
MAY: I have just been to see her majesty, the Queen, and I will now form a government. A government that can provide certainty and lead Britain
forward at this critical time for our country.
GLASS: The reality is, Theresa May is a diminished, politically damaged figure. It had been a long, long night. A lady in red just ten hours
earlier. But just look at the body language, the forced smile, the anxiety, the awareness that every camera was on her.
There was nothing, absolutely nothing to celebrate. By her standard, the speech was hesitant.
MAY: And -- thank you to all those who have once again supported me as a member of parliament for Maidenhead.
GLASS: She seemed more human, in shock. A stunner in the auto-pilot.
MAY: At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability.
(APPLAUSE)
GLASS: The speech and applause was brief. She could hardly get out of there fast enough. So into the night and back to London. And time in the
car to digest the catastrophe. She had asked for support to strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations, she had manifestly failed to get it.
On a good election night, party workers would have crowded the steps, the conservative party headquarters to welcome her. This time, there was
nobody, just an open door. Her cabinet, including her foreign secretary, were either silent or suddenly noncommittal.
(on-camera): Are you still supporting Mrs. May?
BORIS JOHNSON, UK FOREIGN SECRETARY: Early days. It's early days. Everybody should contain themselves until they see -- there you go. Thank
you so much. Thank you so much.
GLASS: Come day break and the contrast couldn't have been greater. A triumphant Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn all hugs and smiles and waves and
thumbs up. Any impartial observer outside Labour Party headquarters would have thought he had won the election. The fact is, Labour made huge gains.
As Britain reverted to old tribal ways. The vote largely split between the twin rocks of conservative and Labour.
JEREMY CORBYN, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. Well, the mandate she's got is lost
conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.
GLASS: Brexit negotiations are scheduled to start on June 19th. May promised, quote, "To be a bloody difficult woman in the negotiations." A
spokesman for the European parliament has tweeted, "The fact is this morning, she looked bloody weak."
The protocol outside 10 Downing Street could hardly been briefer. Everything seemed rushed. No smiles, a certain nervousness. Theresa May
was simply impatient to get away from the cameras and back inside.
Nick Glass, CNN, in Central London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:05:00] AMANPOUR: Now, Crispin Blunt is a conservative party MP who held on to his seat in Surrey, which is in Southeast England. He got a
comfortable majority.
Last year, he voted to leave the EU and he joins me now live from his constituency I think here in Reigate -- Crispin Blunt. And it's good to
have you on the program again today.
The prime minister basically claimed victory outside 10 Downing Street, says that she has a mandate for a new government. And what do you make of
that?
CRISPIN BLUNT, CONSERVATIVE PARTY MP: Well, she's right. We're very much the largest party. We're obviously just short a majority, which is going
to need an arrangement with the DUP. That arrangement is available and she can form an administration. So the country is going to continue to have a
government led by Theresa May. I don't think there's any market inside the conservative party for a leadership change and she's entirely right about
her assessment that what the country needs is stability and calm leadership as we go into these Brexit negotiations.
Of course, the consequence of not having success she hoped for is that we don't go into these negotiations with the strength and position that she
anticipated.
AMANPOUR: Precisely. So, I mean, there are lots of things you just, you know, opened up there. A leadership contest. Everybody is talking about
the fact that she may not be able to hold on. That there might be another election.
Do you think that will happen?
BLUNT: No, I don't in the short to immediate term. I haven't detected amongst my colleagues in the conversations i've had any appetite for a
leadership election.
This has been a -- of course, this has been a blow to her, but it is not a fatal blow, and she can recover from it. What it's going to require of the
parliamentary conservative party is much greater discipline to support her and the government's program in delivering Brexit.
This is an immensely serious time for our country. And, of course, we failed to convince the country of the necessity of giving her the support
to conduct those negotiations.
Now that means that there's huge responsibility on people like me and all the members of the parliamentary conservative party to give her the rock
solid support and David Davis to be able to conduct these negotiations.
AMANPOUR: You know, you're talking about the Brexit negotiation. I want to ask you why you think this all went so horribly pear shaped. This is
not as you've just been saying what you expected, and nobody particularly expected there to be so many gains for the Labour Party.
And furthermore, just tell us how fragile this alliance with the DUP will be. You know, there are bi-elections several times a year in this system.
At any point she could lose a three-seat majority.
BLUNT: Well, you've got to then take off the members who are not going to attend parliament so the majority is then in practice rather large. And
that gives you a bit of a cushion for bi-elections, for certainly for two or three years at least.
Now, the actual issue as to how the negotiation will work will mean there's going to have to be, as I said, discipline on our side to make sure that
she can actually get the legislation through parliament in order to deliver the negotiation.
But I'm not too -- not too fast with the sense about their relationship with the DUP. That will have to work. The DUP are hardly going to want to
put Jeremy Corbyn into office.
What we failed to spot actually was that Jeremy Corbyn actually became a highly effective lightning conductor for the kind of anti-establishment
feeling, and we failed to spot the extent to which young people were engaged to vote in this election on social media. And, of course, those --
people are a generation who did not see the total failure of the economic perspectives being put forward by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonald, in
practice.
AMANPOUR: I'm going to ask you about Brexit. There are so many questions. Let me -- there are so many questions about Brexit. The biggest question
is, what on earth is it going to look like? Your party has not given the people any sort of indication.
Do you believe that no deal is better than a bad deal? And isn't that just an empty threat any way? There is going to have to be some kind of deal
just to export a service for good. Something has to be negotiated.
BLUNT: There is not. What we've got to get to is a deeper comprehensive free trade agreement with our European partners. And they agree we've got
to go beyond that. It's got to include things like security as well. And I'm -- I anticipate, if I'm successfully return as chair of the Foreign
Affairs Committee, then my committee looking at the common foreign security policy and a common defense and security policy and what the United
Kingdom's involvement is going to be in that in the future.
[14:10:15] It's a very important relationship. But if the negotiation is set up by our partners, you've got to agree the divorcees pay a huge bill,
which is highly questionable as to whether we actually have to pay it or not in order to leave.
And only then will we begin to talk about what the nature of the future relationship is. Well, that is being set up to fail. So there's a real
responsibility on both sides now to make sure that we have a clear path towards a positive future relationship with our European Union, neighbors
and partners.
AMANPOUR: Crispin Blunt, Tory MP from Reigate, thank you so much for joining us.
Now, almost as soon as the exit polls were announced, the UK's newspaper front pages started rolling in, and the headline writers had a field day.
"The Mirror," which is a traditionally left wing paper went with "Cor Blimey," a play on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's name and his surprise
success in the polls.
But as the "Evening Standard," which is London's local paper and edited by the pro-remain, former conservative MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer
George Osborne that have gone in hardest.
It calls the Prime Minister the "Queen of Denial," slamming her lack of humility in that speech on the steps of 10 Downing Street.
When we come back, the other big question, how will this affect as we were just talking the Brexit negotiations? And our ongoing relationship with
Europe? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program.
Now, despite disarray in the UK, the two-year Brexit clock is still ticking on, with negotiations scheduled to start on June 19th towards that final
agreement, which is due by March 2019, a date that is actually fixed in treaty law.
The European Counsel president offered Donald Tusk offered congratulations to Theresa May on her reappointment as prime minister and he tweeted this
warning to Britain.
Quote, "We don't know when Brexit talk start. We know when they must end. Do you best to avoid a no deal as a result of no negotiations."
And the European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker made it clear that Europe won't accept any further delays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN CLAUDE JUNCKER, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: As far as the commission is concerned that we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at
9:30. So we are waiting for visitors coming from London. I hope that we will not experience a further delay in the conclusion of these
negotiations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So with me now to discuss it is Norbert Roettgen. He is the chairman of the German Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and he joins
me actually now from Washington, D.C.
Mr. Roettgen, welcome back to the program.
We discussed these developments, you know, many, many times as it's been rolling along. How surprised were you and the Europeans by this result and
most importantly what does it mean now for these negotiations from your perspective?
NORBERT ROETTGEN, GERMAN PARLIAMENT'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: I would say I was not completely surprised, because one could see during the course
of the campaign that this was not going to be a huge success, not the landslide victory as one expected when the call was for a snap elections,
because the performance was not well by the prime minister. She blundered with social care reform. So the possibility of a hung parliament was
there.
[14:15:15] But when it happens, of course, this is still a different story now. And now we have a huge uncertainty in Britain now. We have a
weakened prime minister as the chief negotiator. She called for this election in order to ask for stable and strong leadership. And now she got
the opposite of that. But nevertheless, she stays in power, so she is damaged in her authority. She is damaged in her credibility. This is the
negative side of the story. Perhaps there's also a positive aspect.
My view, my assessment is that this new constellation in the British parliament will probably shift the Brexit topic from a partisan topic
brought through by an absolute majority Tory Party in parliament to a cross party topic, because I am absolutely sure Theresa May can't rely on this
government and governmental majority of a coalition government, the margin of the majority when she wants to present the result of the negotiations to
the House of Commons as she has promised.
So perhaps it will open the debate. Again, will it open to a cross party, more open debate with some element of a new rationality, what is the real
interest, and what were perhaps the scapegoats by the referendum about the leave of the Brexit. So there is also some positive aspect of reopening
the debate and to rationalize it and to broaden it.
AMANPOUR: OK. That's from your perspective. And indeed your foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said kind of the same thing in which he was talking
about the result and hoping that it meant that the British people had spoken for a different kind of Brexit.
Listen to what he said earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIGMAR GABRIEL, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): I think the British people have shown that they are not to be toyed with. Now it's
important to quickly form a new government. And I think the message of this election is, conduct fair conversations with the European Union, and
think again whether it's good for the UK to leave the European Union in this way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So Mr. Roettgen, he's very clear, and I think I hear it from all of you to decide whether actually it's good for the UK to leave the EU in
this manner.
But let me ask you for the nitty gritty. How prepared do you feel the British side is for these negotiations? We've heard a lot about how Europe
is all lined up. The negotiators are all ready. You've got sectors and all sorts of issues divided up ready to talk on day one.
Do you believe that your British counterparts, even before this shock election, were in the realm of reality when it comes to negotiating the
future?
ROETTGEN: The answer is no. And this is due to the sheer unbelievable complexity to grasp, to divorce of more than 40 years long relationship.
These are hundreds of thousands of pages, complex topics to resolve. And even before the British government did not have a clear strategy.
I would not say they were absolutely clueless, but they did not have a strategy how to come through with their schedule, with their goals, and
what they could achieve in 1-1/2 years period of time. A very, very short period of time. And this now, has of course worsened after we have now a
new uncertainty and the kind of fragility on the domestic round in the political system in Britain.
AMANPOUR: Mr. Roettgen, again, I mean, that's a pretty stark characterization that you're making there, and it really spells bad news
for Britain.
It seems that Britain believes that it's opted out of the EU, but can somehow renegotiate an equally good deal for itself, or an even better deal
for itself by reapplying for some kind of relationship.
How do you see -- what are the most important red lines for Europe right now as the beginning -- opening gambit to the negotiations?
ROETTGEN: It starts with how to proceed where Britain and the EU do not agree on. The EU says first of all, we have to talk about money, about the
exit bill. Britain says we don't have to pay anything at all. Then we say that we have to talk about the citizenship rights of the Europeans living
in Great Britain. OK, this might be fine.
[14:20:13] Then we have to talk about Northern Ireland-Ireland border which is a very important issue also. And the European position is that first,
we have to deal and to negotiate the divorce, and only when we have done that we come to the future relationship.
And the Brits say, no, we have to do it simultaneously. We can't wait so long. So even the question on how to agree on how to proceed is completely
open, has to be agreed on. And there are fundamental differences.
And so the clock is ticking. There is only 1-1/2 year more or less before the negotiation for an unbelievable complex -- complex topic. So it's
really hard how to imagine how this will -- can be proceeded in an orderly way in the future.
And now we have the political impediments on the British side. It's going harder. Perhaps there is a hope that the Brits say we have to get now more
rational, more serious, more realistic I would say on this topic, and we have to broaden it. We have to change our calls. But I think there is
more cluelessness now on the British side than even before.
AMANPOUR: It is not a pretty picture you paint.
Norbert Roettgen, thank you so much for joining us from Washington. The head of the German parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.
Now we've just heard that Donald Trump had a question shouted at him about these election results. Of course you remember that Prime Minister May was
the first foreign leader to meet the president after the inauguration, and he has declared that these results are surprising.
So, up next, we find out more about the Northern Irish party that's teaming up with Theresa May in a minority government. But, first, we leave you
with reaction from the streets of London to this surprise election result.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Theresa May has got to resign, you know. She can't come back to this now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Brexit talks, Britain is clearly the weaker party so it's going to be up to the EU. I think the whole talks of saying having
a big majority would improve the negotiating position is rubbish.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm relieved, because that woman changes her mind a lot. She promises a lot of stability, and I think she needs to be held to
account that we're going to get that stability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AMANPOUR: So after the latest stunning election result here in Britain, Theresa May needs help to create a ruling majority. That comes in the form
of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.
It's small and it's socially conservative, and it appears to be a natural fit with the Tories, on issues like security and Brexit. This is what the
party leader had to say today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARLENE FOSTER, DEMOCRATIC UNIONIST PARTY LEADER: Negotiations on our exit from the European Union are about to commence. And we know this
uncertainty at Westminster.
[14:25:00] The prime minister has spoken with me this morning, and we will enter discussions with the conservatives to explore how it may be possible
to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So Arlene Foster, head of that party. And Eamonn Mallie is a journalist and an author, and he joins me now live from Belfast to drill
down into what all this means.
First of all, welcome to the program. Thanks for being with us.
You know, suddenly, people all over the world...
(CROSSTALK)
EAMONN MALLIE, AUTHOR & JOURNALIST: Thank you, Christiane.
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR:...and the United Kingdom are going to be waking up to find out that this party, this small party, slightly obscured in the big game of
things, is going to be helping the British government.
What does this mean precisely in your view?
MALLIE: Well, who knows? We're in unchartered territory here. This is a strange bedfellow for Mrs. May in many ways, because the Democratic
Unionist Party is a very right wing party from a security point of view. Very anti-Europe.
But, furthermore, on questions of morality, like same-sex marriage, homosexuality, all of that, it's a party which has very little tolerance
for those sort of issues.
Now, in a liberal society like you have in Great Britain, they're not natural fits, these particular parties. And the Democratic Unionist Party
has been in the firing line for quite a long time in Northern Ireland.
There has been and have been several allegations arising out of property deeds, et cetera, et cetera against the Democratic -- or at least against
some individuals.
So it's a bit of an unnatural relationship despite what might be said to the contrary by Mrs. May, et cetera.
AMANPOUR: Right. I hear you loud and clear. So what does it -- what does the party want? I mean, what in it for them? What is the, you know, areas
of leverage that they may be able to exert pressure on the prime minister, and how fickle is this sort of joining up by them? How fickle could it be?
MALLIE: Well, I'm not saying -- I wouldn't go as far as to say it's fickle. I mean, the Democratic Unionist Party, I suspect is being
opportunistic. They hope to extract a price from Theresa May and her government. But similarly, Mrs. May is being opportunistic.
It's the only lifeline she's got to sustain the government or at least to try and put a government together again. So from that point of view, in a
sense they need each other, the common denominator of course is that the Democratic Unionist Party wants to cling to the union, wants to be part of
the United Kingdom intellectually and emotionally.
And Mrs. May needs help, and she was quite willing to take help from anywhere. I think she would have been very glad to have received help from
Jeremy Corbyn at this point of time, and that seems unimaginable. But such was a dilemma in which she found herself, because this was a shock result.
I think there was only one opinion poll, YouGov, I think called it correctly. This was not what one expected.
That gong last night news at 10:00, when the exit poll revealed that potentially we would have a hung parliament, it was a shocker to everybody.
It was like one of those moments, where were you when John F. Kennedy was killed? That's the impact of that moment last night.
AMANPOUR: Wow, that is pretty -- that's quite a stark comparison you made there. But it's true in terms of political earthquake. The whole country
felt it and it is reverberating around certainly Europe as they face this Brexit.
(CROSSTALK)
MALLIE: Oh yes, this was seismic.
AMANPOUR: I want to ask you about Brexit from the DUP point of view.
Hold on a second. I know it was seismic. I want to ask you about Brexit and what the DUP want on that. They voted for Brexit, but they don't want
no hard border between Northern Ireland and the republic, right?
So what can they exact, do you think, if anything, on that issue?
MALLIE: Well, they never really liked Europe. They're anti-European in their very bones in the waters. They didn't ever like Europe.
John Hume, for example, the leader of the social democratic and liberal party. He educated us as young people coming through in Northern Ireland
on the relevance, on the importance of Europe, and how truly in harnessing the resources of coal and energy, et cetera in Europe. Military are
against world war, or European wars or internecine wars in Europe for the last 56 years.
But that lesson wasn't really ever assumed, or learn, or accepted from the unionist partisan community. They still want to cling to the past, holding
to the view that Britain still rules the waves, et cetera. That's the psychology and the mentality of unionist have been now and then (ph), so
they have no affection, no love whatsoever for Europe.
But, and this is the dilemma in which they might find themselves now, Northern Ireland having been a trouble spot for so long, Christiane, as you
would know you are here I met you many years ago, it received billions and billions of pounds from Europe peace money, peace one, two, three, four--
AMANPOUR: Yes.
MALLIE: --to try to ameliorate and to improve a life generally on the streets of Northern Ireland. The farmers are subsidized very, very heavily
from Europe.
AMANPOUR: Yes.
MALLIE: Now, the farmers are going to lose that money from Europe and the farmers who have supported Democratic Unionist Party--
AMANPOUR: Right.
MALLIE: --they could potentially get hurt very, very badly. So, I think the Democratic Unionist Party--
AMANPOUR: All right.
MALLIE: --may try and extract the price--
AMANPOUR: Right.
MALLIE: -- from Mrs. May on this issue.
AMANPOUR: Eamonn Mallie, thank you so much and as you laid it out so much cognitive dissonance going on around this whole election and this whole
Brexit issue, thanks for joining us from Belfaux.
Now, the day of the vote, June 8th, also marked 104 years since Emily Davidson sacrificed her life in the fight for women's suffrage. She threw
herself in front of a horse of King George V at the Epsom Races in 1913. It was very, very famous and all these years later, her sacrifice was not in
vain.
The 207 women have won seats in parliament behind me last night, and that is a historic and a record high. So, when we come back, more women. Former
Labour MP, Fiona Mactaggart joins me to discuss the shock result. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program. I'm live from outside the houses of parliament here in London as Britain grapples with the shock outcome of
Thursday's General Election. Prime Minister, Theresa May has apologized for the result that cost her party its all-important parliamentary majority,
after many voters ditched the Tories in favor of the opposition Labour Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAY: My focus last night was on the results came through was on those colleagues who were sadly losing their seats, colleagues who I've worked
with, colleagues who contributed much to our country and I felt that they did not deserve to lose their seats. As the results started to come -- more
results started to come through, it became clear that we were the party that have the most seats and most votes. And I felt it was incumbent upon
us that at a critical time in our country to form a government in the national interest and that is what I'm doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:35:00] AMANPOUR: So, Theresa May has announced a minority government with a small party in Northern Ireland, but critics are questioning her
leadership. Joining me now to discuss the huge gains made by Labour is one of the party's Former MPs, Fiona Mactaggart who held her seat in Slough
since 1997 and she stepped down after May called this snap election. She's also a former member of the Intelligence Security Committee. Welcome back
to the program.
FIONA MACTAGGART, FORMER LABOUR MP: Thank you, Christiane.
AMANPOUR: First, before I get on to the huge intake of women as a very nice by-product of what just happened, I want to ask you about Theresa May
is still insisting that she's got the majority, she's the person to run the strong and stable necessary for the future, and the one to take Brexit
negotiations to Europe.
MACTAGGART: What she said that this election was about Brexit, but she hasn't said at any point in the election said what she wants to do. She
hasn't, I know more about what the 27 other European countries want out of Brexit than I do what Theresa May wants, and I think the good thing about
this election, in relation to Brexit, is that she's not going to be able to get away with what's colloquially called a Hard Brexit.
A kind of Brexit which says you all Brit sucks (ph) for the rest of your European party list because obviously that's terrible for the British
economy, terrible for jobs in this country. It's very destructive and that was the road that she was going now. I think now it's not really going to
be possible for her to do that, because she won't be able to command a majority in parliament to call that approach.
AMANPOUR: What do you think went wrong for her? Was it the whole Brexit issue and the lack of any knowledge and the fear of a Hard Brexit? Was it
the last minute surprising campaign ability and likability on the campaign of Jeremy Corbyn? Was it the young people?
MACTAGGART: I think she was called out by the British public. I think she took them for granted and she sort of took the piss, if I can use a vulgar
phrase--
(LAUGHTER)
MACTAGGART: --in that she said, oh, trust me, I'll be strong and stable. She didn't actually offer anything. There was nothing for the future. There
wasn't any change. It was just, you know, you've got to have an election and give me more the same without me telling you very much about what I
want to have more of the same.
And I think the British public said actually, we don't have to do that? Why do we have to do that? Let's do something else. Let's vote for someone
that's a bit nice, not someone who's telling us all the time. And I think - - I think she just completely lost it. She didn't engage with the public.
All these ongoing round to visits, all these constituencies, actually while she was there she didn't talk to people, she just did little photo shoots.
And I think that the general public are fed up of being taken like a fool.
AMANPOUR: Young people, though, I mean the Labour Leader and the Labour Party made a big deal, were very proud of registering, I think up to 2
million if I'm not mistaken you know the numbers better, but in the last minute young people actually go and vote.
MACTAGGART: Yes. One of the really sad things about politics in the last 20 years is that the majority of young people didn't vote. The majority of
older people voted. In fact, there's almost a straight line with age of your likelihood to vote. The consequence of that is disastrous for a
country because it means that every party is under pressure to produce an offer which suits the old.
Well, that's all very nice, but actually you also need offers that suit the lives of young people if you want your country to thrive in the future. And
actually, I think, Jeremy and I admire him for this took a principal decision that we are going to go for those young people. We're going to
make sure that we have an offer which meets their needs and we're going to engage them in politics, get them to register, work with student unions and
so on to make them excited--
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: --there were lines around the block, you know, three or four deep at some of the university towns and elsewhere--
MACTAGGART: Yes.
AMANPOUR: --but let me ask you, because we've talked about women and--
MACTAGGART: Yes.
AMANPOUR: --a historic intake of women in the part, which is really good news and I ask you because you were one of Tony Blair's famous Blair Babes,
if I can say--
MACTAGGART: I was, yes.
AMANPOUR: --I mean, it may sound a little old and corny these days but it was a great term back then.
MACTAGGART: Absolutely. It was -- that was a kind of landslide. There were 101 women elected in one party in one election. And it was transformative.
And the Labour Party has continued to increase its number of women in every election since apart from the one immediately afterwards, but thereafter,
we continued to grow and so in the last election in 2015, 44 percent of Labour MPs were women.
In this one, it's 45 percent. So we're nearly halfway there. Unfortunately, although there's been a big growth in women, for example, the Liberal
Democrats who had no women elected in 2015 now have four. The Labour Party is really the party which has increased this. The Conservatives have no
extra women, and that's the sad thing.
[14:40:00] AMANPOUR: And Fiona lastly, you know, you chose not to contest your seat again. You stepped down ahead of this election.
MACTAGGART: Yes.
AMANPOUR: Why did you do that?
MACTAGGART: I'm 63, I'm actually--
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: --young.
MACTAGGART: I know it's quite young, but one of the things that I think politics is full of is people who keep going just a way bit beyond their
sell-by date and I decided I'm not going to keep going beyond my sell-by date. I want to give this up at a point when I can still make my shift and
change the world in other ways, so that's what I did.
AMANPOUR: Fantastic. Fiona Mactaggart, thank you so much.
MACTAGGART: Thank you very much.
AMANPOUR: Earlier, I spoke to Gina Miller. Now, she's the businesswoman who brought a successful court case against the government about the whole
issue of triggering Article 50. She forced a vote from Parliament at the start of the Brexit process. And earlier she told me that the election
result shows that people do not want an extreme version of Brexit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINA MILLER, BRITISH BUSINESSWOMAN: For me, it's a huge success and I'm so pleased, because what's happened in my view is that democracy has won. We
now have a strong opposition and we have the people saying we did not vote for an extreme Brexit. We may have voted for Brexit, but not for the sort
of Brexit that Mrs. May was peddling.
AMANPOUR: So, you're a businesswoman?
MILLER: Yes.
AMANPOUR: And this matters a lot to you, what do you think realistically now will happen. I mean, let's say she forms a government?
MILLER: I think with the Dub, she will get 327, which means that it's not a hanging parliament, she has the majority--
AMANPOUR: Of one.
MILLER: --of one, but then she has to be health to account, which I think that this negotiation as we go forward is the best possible thing. And also
it is not now about leading a single market because a single market is not a military union, it's not a judicial union, it's not a political union. We
can still be in it and have control. So, this whole line that they were peddling about Hard Brexit jumping off the cliff, the people have spoken
and said that's not what we want.
AMANPOUR: But to Playa Del's (ph) advocate, to be in the single market, you need to have free movement of people and nobody is talking about
allowing that to happen after Brexit and we're even hearing even from Labour supporters and that -- that actually people still are very concerned
about immigration.
MILLER: I absolutely disagree with that, because we did polling that came in last Friday and we asked a very straightforward question. The next
government, do you want them to guarantee freedom of movement to live, work, and retire and 69 percent of both leaders and remainders around the
country said yes and only 10 percent said no. The political parties were not listening to the people. We were out talking to them every single day.
AMANPOUR: So, what do you think happened? People have been talking about tactical voting, about -- about--
MILLER: It's exactly what we did. So, we launched a tactical voting website. I was told that it wouldn't work. We made 573 recommendations. We
personally -- I personally went out on the doorstep with 36 of our champions and 21 of those won in very marginal seats. Tactical voting
worked. Not only that, the young people turned out because we got the young under 30s, 2 million new voters registered, and 18 to 24s, 1 million.
AMANPOUR: That's huge.
MILLER: --that's huge. And in the tactical voting constituencies we were recommending, the turnout was 72 plus percent. People really got engaged
with this and really raised tactical voting--
AMANPOUR: And your tactical voting was based on the Brexit issue--
MILLER: It was.
AMANPOUR: --nothing else.
MILLER: It was.
AMANPOUR: --not on austerity--
(CROSSTALK)
MILLER: No. We were on one -- we were asking people to tactically vote on Brexit in two ways. One was strong voices in parliament and secondly for
full and free vote at the end of the negotiating period.
AMANPOUR: So, again, you know, a Former Blairite, we just talked to the former Lord Chancellor--
MILLER: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: --and he was saying that, you know, it wasn't really Brexit is the main issue it was the direction of the country, it was the austerity,
it was people's standard of living, it was young people like you say.
MILLER: For the young people it was Brexit and even though, not the parties have put Brexit at the front of their manifesto, we did. On
Facebook, we had the biggest conversation social media. We really used the tools of social media and got over 21 million social media impressions. It
-- they were engaging with Brexit but in the -- sort of around the country, of course, the other issues.
The Social Care U-turn made a big difference and we dented the reputation of Mrs. May. And of course, the atrocities that happened, the terrible
things that happened, people were worried about if we are on our own, what does that mean for our security?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So, we don't know the official breakdown yet, but analysts are saying that there was a huge youth turnout, which helps swing the vote for
Labour. Here's what some students from University College London have been saying about this result.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On a positive side, yes. The Dub staunchly remained, but my problem is still that I see Theresa May being in charge as only a
bad thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I end up voting Conservative because I don't really like believing in the Labour's policies. I'm not trying to kind of feel
(ph) like they are pulling that policy about (ph). They are not really backing up whether there has enough money to do stuff from (ph).
[14:45:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's fantastic people (ph) but I think that the mandate for a Hard Brexit has disappeared. I think that's
the most important thing to take away from last night.
AMANPOUR: Young people motivated to take their future into their own hands. We'll going to take a short break and we'll be back after that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program. We're here outside Parliament but we're going to go to the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C.
because President Donald Trump is going to be speaking alongside the Romanian President. So, when he comes out, we'll be listening in to what he
has to say. He's already pronounced on this election result, but it was just really a quick answer in response to a shouted question at him, and he
did say that he was surprised by the election result here.
Of course, Theresa May, the Prime Minister, was the first foreign leader to go to Washington and meet the president right after his inauguration. She
got that first invite to the White House, much coveted, highly coveted. And now, of course, her she finds herself in a much more weak position in terms
of power, in terms of mandate and having to go into one of the most serious consequential negotiations for this country since World War II.
When Brexit was on the agenda, you know, it was last year, it's now considered and even then it was considered that Prime Minister David
Cameron was quite reckless in calling a referendum that he didn't legally or politically lead to actually call, but he did it. He said he hoped to
quell the internal civil war inside the Tory party over the issue of Europe.
And, of course, when that happened, when the Brexit happened, you remember, of course, that Donald Trump was very pro-Brexit and he started to tweet on
the campaign trail, that this was a good thing, that the British were going to get stronger. And that Donald Trump actually sort of focused his
attention on all the other European Elections that we've had since. For instance, in the Netherlands, for instance in France on whether or not they
would stay with pro-European, pro-free trade candidates and, of course, in the rest of Europe, they won.
And, now there is this conundrum between the United States and the Prime Minister of Britain on just exactly what this is going to mean,
particularly for the U.S. Alliance. And, of course, as you know while we're waiting to see the President of Romania come out, interesting to see what
he has to say about Europe and to the United States. We mustn't forget that Donald Trump did come over to Europe about two weeks ago. It was his first
foreign trip.
And he failed to give the Europeans what they were hoping to hear from the President of the United States, the leader of the NATO Alliance. He did not
say in words and in deeds, he said not say that as President of the United States, he was committed to Article V, which is the joint defense pact, the
joint defense agreement to the NATO Allies, so they're very worried about that. And, of course, there are other issues that the Europeans are
incredibly worried about as well.
And I have Robin Oakley with me here, who is our veteran political analyst and expert. And just -- we've been talking a lot about the election, but as
we wait for the American President to come in and talk before people at the Rose Garden with the President of Romania, let's just go over some of the
issues, not just Brexit and free-trade that actually are separating the United States from Europe. For instance, climate, they were absolutely
astounded when he pulled out of Paris.
[14:50:00] ROBIN OAKLEY, VETERAN POLITICAL ANALYST, EXPERT: Indeed. And, Theresa May has taken a certain amount of stick from other European leaders
for not disassociating herself from Donald Trump on climate change sufficiently vigorously because many others signed a joint letter and she
was not part of that. And, of course, you know, she's saying that although Britain is--
AMANPOUR: As they're walking towards the podium, we'll stop when they start, but carry on.
OAKLEY: Yes, although, you know, Britain is going for Brexit, she's saying she wants to continue to work closely with Europe and be an ally of Europe,
but--
AMANPOUR: All right, we're listening in.
(CROSSTALK)
OAKLEY: --with this feeling, she's just keeping that little bit on edge and they're always worried she's more interested in Donald Trump than in
them.
AMANPOUR: And here's Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: --as you know, the people of Romania and America share much in common, a love of freedom, proud
cultures, rich traditions and a vast and storied landscape to call home. The relationship between our two countries stretches back well-over a
century. But, today, we especially reaffirm and celebrate our strategic partnership that began more than 20 years ago. That partnership covers many
dimensions including economic, military, and cultural ties and today we are making those ties even stronger.
Mr. President, your visit comes at an important moment, not just in this partnership, but among all of the responsible nations of the world. I've
just returned from a historic trip to Europe and the Middle East where I worked to strengthen our alliances, forge new friendships, and unite all
civilized peoples in the fight against terrorism. No civilized nation can tolerate this violence or allow this wicked ideology to spread on its
shores.
I address this summit of more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders, a unique meeting in the history of nations where key players in the region agreed to
stop supporting terrorism whether it'd be financial, military, or even moral support. The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a
funder of terrorism at a very high level. And, at the wake of that conference, nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar
over its behavior, so we had a decision to make.
Do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard but necessary action? We have to stop the funding of terrorism. I decided, along with Secretary
of State, Rex Tillerson, our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding. They have to end that funding
and its extremist ideology in terms of funding. I want to call on all of the nations to stop immediately supporting terrorism. Stop teaching people
to kill other people. Stop filling their minds with hate and intolerance.
I won't name other countries, but we are not done solving the problem but we will solve that problem. I have no choice. This is my great priority,
because it is my first duty as president to keep our people safe. Defeating ISIS and other terror organizations is something I have emphasized all
during my campaign and right up until the present. To do that, stop funding, stop teaching hate, and stop the killing.
[14:55:00] TRUMP: For Qatar, we want you back among the unity of responsible nations. We ask Qatar, and other nations in the region, to do
more and do it faster. I want to thank Saudi Arabia and my friend, King Salman, and all the countries who participated in that very historic
summit. It was truly historic. There has never been anything like it before, and perhaps there never will be again.
Hopefully, it will be the beginning of the end of funding terrorism. It will therefore be the beginning of the end of terrorism. No more funding. I
also want to thank the Romanian people for everything they contribute to our common defense and to the fight against the evil menace of terrorism.
They have their own difficulties with it and they've come a long way and they're doing a lot.
Romania has been a valuable member of the coalition to defeat ISIS and it's the fourth largest contributor of troops in Afghanistan. There are 23 of
your citizens have paid the ultimate price and America honors their sacrifice. I want to recognize President Iohannis for his leadership in
committing Romania to increase its defense spending from 1.4 percent of GDP to over 2 percent. We hope our other NATO Allies will follow Romania's lead
on meeting their financial obligations and paying their fair share for the cost of defense.
But, I will say this, that because of our actions, money is starting to pour in to NATO. The money is starting to pour in. Other countries are
starting to realize that it's time to pay up and they're doing that, very proud of that fact. As you know, I have been an advocate for strengthening
our NATO Alliance through greater responsibility and burden sharing among member nations. And that is what has happened, because together, we can
confront the common security challenges facing the world.
Mr. President, I want to applaud your courage and your courageous efforts in Romania to fight corruption and defend the rule of law. This work is
necessary to create an environment where trade and commerce can flourish and where citizens can prosper. I look forward to working with you to
deepen the ties of both commerce and culture between our two countries.
Romanians have made contributions to the United States and to the world, very notable among them was Nobel Prize Laureate, Elie Wiesel who was born
in Romania and sadly passed away almost one year ago and I understand that earlier this week the American-Jewish Committee presented President
Iohannis with its very prestigious light unto the nations award, for his work to further holocaust remembrance and education in Romania.
[15:00:00] TRUMP: I joined the AJC in saluting your leadership in this vital cause. The people of Romania have endured many, many hardships, but
they have made a truly remarkable and historical journey. The future of and Romania and Romania's relationship with the United States is very, very
bright. President Iohannis, I thank you for your leadership and I thank you again for being here today.
END
