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From calling an election to get an increased majority in Parliament, to returning with fewer seats and a no clear working majority, the result from the UK general election is a shock that is on par with the vote to leave the EU a year ago.
The only difference is that the referendum result was predicted to be close. In the general election, it was predicted that even though the Conservatives' 20-point lead had gone, polls were still showing an 8-10% margin of victory. This result would have led to a comfortable majority.
Over the coming days, many political analysts will pick over what went wrong for British Prime Minister Theresa May.
For agriculture, there are a couple of specific issues that are worth considering.
It didn’t feature at all as a campaign issue and while it is a bad result for the Conservatives, they look initially to be the most likely to form a Government.
Traditionally a Labour Government would be considered less sympathetic to agriculture and rural matters as their electorate is more urban-based.
Therefore, the absence of a Labour-led Government isn’t seen as any great missed opportunity for farming.
With the Conservatives needing the support of others to get a working majority, the Northern Ireland parties, now reduced to the DUP and Sinn Fein, are in a uniquely strong position.
However, it is only the DUP that can shape the next Government as Sinn Fein remain committed to not taking seats in Westminster.
Of all the parties that stood for election, the DUP are probably the most agriculture-orientated.
They have a strong vote in the farming community in Northern Ireland and as they have the numbers the Conservative party needs, we can expect that the interests of agriculture will get a prominence in Westminster that it wouldn’t have had otherwise.
What about Brexit?
Theresa May declared this election was about giving her a strong mandate to negotiate the UK exit from the EU. Her pronouncements to date had suggested that there would be no place for the Single Market and the EU Court of Justice and that the UK would do its own trade deals. Add these together and they mean a hard Brexit.
The Labour party manifesto was committed to giving effect to the referendum but much softer in tone. However, they are unlikely to have the numbers to form Government unless they got the support of every smaller party, which is unlikely.
There is no denying that by making Brexit the reason for calling the election, the Prime Minister's hand is weakened by returning with less MPs than she had before.
There is also the issue around when talks start as it is likely that there will be several days of debate on the formation of a government, and all the time the clock is ticking in Brussels.
A softer Brexit
One possible way of interpreting the result is that the UK electorate want a softer Brexit than was outlined by the outgoing government.
If the incoming government was to adopt a more conciliatory approach, it is likely that it would go down well in Brussels, who despite the various pronouncements in recent months, still want the UK to be as close as possible to the EU.
This time last year nobody foresaw that the UK would leave the EU, though a close vote was expected.
This time last week the debate was on the size of majority Theresa May would achieve against an opponent that hadn’t the support of several of his own party colleagues at Westminster.
Today, all has changed again and the Prime Minister returns to Westminster weakened at the very least.
The Northern Ireland MPs who participate in the House of Commons have now been put in a position of holding the balance of power, effectively king makers.
Given their understanding of agriculture in Northern Ireland, it is potentially the closest farming has ever been to the centre of government in Westminster.
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