The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has stated it is "crucial" the uncertainty caused by the General Election (GE) vote is minimised.

The recent election has resulted in a hung Parliament, with no party winning enough seats to have a clear majority. With one seat left to declare, the Conservatives are eight seats short of the 326 figure.

Commenting on the results, FMB Chief Executive Brian Berry said the surprise result has left key business sectors "nervous"

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"The construction sector is particularly vulnerable to dips in consumer confidence brought about by political uncertainty and therefore it's crucial that this uncertainty is minimised," he said.

"In the longer term, there could be a potential silver lining for the business community as the prospect of a hard Brexit now seems less likely. Theresa May stood on a hard Brexit platform and she has clearly not been given a mandate to approach the negotiations in this way. Brexit is inevitable but the election result will surely have a significant impact on the shape of the Brexit deal we end up with.

"This could be a positive for business leaders who are concerned about a broad range of issues – for the construction sector, our greatest concern is that the flow of migrant workers might be reduced too quickly and before we are able to put in place a framework for training sufficient UK workers to replace them."

(LM/MH)