BEAR in mind that this was written on Friday following the General Election result.

Given the pace of political machinations recently, there’s a good chance that by Wednesday when you read this the landscape looks very different. Regardless, let’s give it a go.

So, the Conservatives fell just short of a majority, but achieved enough to form a weakened Government, but one with at least some semblance of stability.

We’ve seen a weak pound as a result, but not on the scale of the Brexit aftermath, largely because the pound already represented good value after the sharp devaluation following the EU referendum.

So what happens next?

The poor showing for the Conservatives means that they have a majority in combination with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

This isn’t as as part of a coalition (as the Liberal Democrats did in 2010) but on a confidence and supply basis.

This means the DUP will be supporting the Government or abstaining during confidence votes and finance bills but otherwise retaining independence. Co-operating with a Conservative Government should provide the DUP with an opportunity to influence Brexit negotiations, which would seem very valuable given the desire for a soft border with the Republic of Ireland.

What impact will this have?

This clearly isn’t the increased mandate Theresa May wanted.

She called this election voluntarily, apparently to bolster her mandate for Brexit negotiations.

She is now ceding influence in those negotiations to a third party.

Despite this, she indicated no intention of resigning, although whether the decision is taken out of her hands by the time you read this, or in the near future, remains to be seen.

In the immediate aftermath of the election, there was a lot of talk about how this result might cause a softer Brexit.

We suspect it doesn’t change the Brexit position that much.

The Government’s position pre-election had been that “no deal is better than a bad deal” and that some issues could not be compromised on. Specifically, that the UK would regain control of its borders and be able to control immigration from the continent and also that the European Court of Justice would lose its supremacy over UK law. That seems likely to remain the case.

Another theory for why a softer Brexit might be more likely is that Labour outperformed by getting support among 18-24-year-olds and critically motivating them to vote with turnout potentially as high as 70 per cent.

Is this because they objected to the Conservative hard Brexit rhetoric?

Maybe, but their views on Europe didn’t provoke a strong turnout in the referendum and, like the rest of the country, most have accepted the result even if they still don’t consider it the best outcome.

We suspect that Labour’s spending pledges were what motivated the turnout this time, particularly the promise to abolish university tuition fees.

If the Conservatives want to try and court this group then we suspect they would need to do so through tax and spending commitments, rather than a different stance on Brexit.

Aside from Brexit there was some economic reassurance for markets in the poor showing for the Scottish National Party (SNP).

This makes the chances of a second referendum on Scottish Independence less likely, which will benefit the pound.

The moves seen in markets immediately after the result weren’t as big as those we saw following the referendum result and were pretty modest compared with previous elections.

Nevertheless, the market has assumed weaker growth and reacted to the weaker pound.

While many will think the result is unexpected, it should not prompt knee-jerk reactions.

Investors need to remain focused on the longer term.

While there may be some volatility in the coming days and weeks, it will wash out of the market over time.

This is not a time for precipitous actions.

Neil McLoram works in business development at wealth management firm Brewin Dolphin, based in Newcastle.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily the views held throughout Brewin Dolphin. No director, representative or employee of Brewin Dolphin accepts liability for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this document or its contents. Any tax allowances or thresholds mentioned are based on personal circumstances and current legislation which is subject to change. The information contained in the Brewin Dolphin Family Wealth Report is believed to be reliable and accurate, but without further investigation cannot be warranted as to accuracy or completeness. The value of investments can fall and you may get back less than you invested. The information is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended as investment advice.