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By Sky News
1. Brexit negotiations are due to start on 19 June
The single biggest issue confronting Theresa May in her in-tray.
The Prime Minister called the General Election to try and boost her mandate ahead of Brexit negotiations.
But the gamble failed as she did not get an absolute majority.
And with the EU divorce looming she will have to convince both Remainers and Brexiteers that she can secure a good deal for the country.
However, a sticking point is set to be continuing to be a member of the single market which Mrs May and the Tories had ruled out in their manifesto.
Brussels has insisted that freedom of movement is a requirement of access to the single market, and this will almost certainly be opposed by the Conservatives because of their commitment to take back control of the UK borders and curb immigration.
2. Negotiating with the Democratic Unionist Party
She has called upon the support of the DUP in Northern Ireland to shore up her minority government.
They have 10 seats which will be crucial in pushing ahead with the PM’s plans in the House of Commons.
The DUP is likely to drive a hard bargain for its support.
On top of seeking to broker a beneficial deal for Northern Ireland, the party has warned against a hard Brexit, despite campaigning to leave the EU
And it will oppose any move with the Republic to impose checks at the border.
In addition, it looks likely to be a “confidence and supply” arrangement – which does not provide the greater security and certainty that would be offered in a formal coalition.
The DUP could agree to back the Government on the budget and any vote of confidence while deciding other measures on a vote-by-vote basis.
3. Form her new Cabinet, including senior and junior ministers
Theresa May will have several posts to fill after she lost eight frontbenchers.
Ministers Jane Ellison, Simon Kirby, Gavin Barwell, James Wharton, Nicola Blackwood, Rob Wilson and Edward Timpson all lost their seats.
Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer, the author of the widely criticised Tory manifesto, was also ousted.
Will the top people keep their jobs? For example Chancellor Philip Hammond, who was rumoured to have fallen out with Mrs May, and who had a fairly low profile during the campaign.
4. Tory dissent over her leadership
The Tory campaign sought to make Mrs May an asset and she ended up being a liability.
Some Tory MPs did not like making her the sole focus of the campaign and were also deeply critical of the manifesto which led to a political own goal over changes in social care plans.
Her remote style and unwillingness to engage with the public, in stark contrast to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also drawn criticism.
Both inside and outside the party, Mrs May has ruffled feathers, not least arch-critic, former chancellor and now Evening Standard editor George Osborne, and there will be no shortage of people wanting her job.
And in the Commons, she will require total loyalty from her backbenchers, given her precarious political position.
5. Could she appoint new advisers and shake-up her internal team?
Mrs May’s two key advisers are Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, but there will now be serious questions asked over their future given their close ties to the failed campaign and their bunker approach.
The PM’s gamble of calling a snap election to increase her majority had backfired in spectacular fashion, so could the pair be casualties or will she stick by them?
Co-chief of staff Mr Timothy was widely blamed for the disastrous proposal to reform social care funding in the party’s manifesto without consultation.
6. Preparing for the Queen’s Speech on 19 June
Having lost her majority, the PM is now faced with having to push through parliament a legislation programme that her critics will insist she has no mandate to deliver.
And she is likely to face stiff opposition both in the Commons and in the House of Lords where the government already does not have a majority.
7. Demands for another election
Despite insisting “now let’s get to work”, her opponents are unlikely to be silenced in their calls for her to go and given her lack of mandate, ultimately demand another election.
SKY NEWS
