Nigel Farage has said he would feel forced to launch a political comeback if Brexit was under threat, as official results showed Prime Minister Theresa May's right-wing Conservatives have lost an overall majority in the British Parliament.
The former U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) leader told CNBC on Friday that the election result "imperils the whole Brexit process."
Farage, who resigned as UKIP leader shortly after Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, suggested a potential coalition government led by left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would put Brexit "in some trouble."
"If Brexit (which the) British people voted for gets betrayed, I would have no choice but to throw myself back into full-time campaigning," Farage said.
Later on Friday morning, UKIP leader Paul Nuttall resigned with immediate effect after the right-wing party failed to win any seats in Thursday's vote. London Assembly member, Pete Whittle, will now become acting leader of the party.
By 10:40 a.m. London time, Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservative party had won 318 seats while the opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, had 261 seats. Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) had won 35 seats, the Liberal Democrats were at 12 and the Democratic Unionist Party had secured 10. Voter turnout was at 68.7 percent, according to the BBC.
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Farage, in an interview with the BBC, went on to describe Theresa May as "toast" on Friday and predicted it would be "just a matter of time" before the prime minister was forced to resign.
However, despite facing calls to step down, May's Conservatives and the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) are poised to work together in a government with a weakened majority. Speaking outside Downing Street on Friday afternoon, May insisted Brexit negotiations would stick to the same timetable as before.
"What the country needs now more than ever is certainty. Having secured the largest number of votes and greatest number of seats in the General Election, it is clear the Conservatives and Unionist party has the legitimacy to provide that," May said.
