• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > World

Theresa May Nears a Deal with Right-Wing Democratic Unionists

  • Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leaves 10 Downing Street in central London, Britain, on June 13, 2017.

    Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leaves 10 Downing Street in central London, Britain, on June 13, 2017. | Photo: Reuters

Published 13 June 2017
Opinion

Such a coalition may jeopardize Northern Ireland's peace process, former Prime Minister John Major warned. 

Talks between Theresa May’s Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, over a minority government deal were "constructive" and "going well," the DUP leader said Tuesday.

RELATED:
UK PM May to Form New Minority Government with Democratic Unionist Party

After meeting the prime minister in Downing Street, Arlene Foster said: "Discussions are going well with the government and we hope soon to be able to bring this work to a successful conclusion."

She added that Brexit, counter-terrorism and “doing what's right for Northern Ireland in respect of economic matters" were among the issues being discussed.

According to the BBC, a final meeting to approve the deal is set for Wednesday.

May's Conservative party lost its overall majority in last week’s snap general election. May has announced that she will form a minority government with the socially conservative Northern Irish unionist party.

A failure to reach an agreement with the DUP could risk the new administration and the Queen's Speech being voted down next week. The Queen will open the new Parliament on June 19 and deliver a speech reflecting the winning party's election manifesto.

May had called on Parliament to "come together in a spirit of national unity" to deal with the challenges facing the country.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, the new Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the alliance with the DUP would "strengthen the United Kingdom,” and it was "entirely possible" to meet DUP concerns about cross-border trade with the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.

But John Major, the former Conservative prime minister, warned that striking a deal with the DUP could put the “fragile peace” in Northern Ireland at risk by persuading "hard men" on both sides of the divide to return to violence.

RELATED:
Song Calling Theresa May a 'Liar' Tops Music Charts

“People shouldn’t regard it (the peace process) as a given. It’s not certain, it’s under stress, it’s fragile,” Major added.

Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican party, said the prospect of a deal between the Conservatives and the DUP is causing anxiety and fear, and such a move undermines power-sharing talks in Northern Ireland.

In the Commons, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also claimed that a coalition between the Tories and DUP would be a "coalition of chaos.”

"If that's not possible, the Labour Party stands ready to offer strong and stable leadership in the national interest," Corbyn said.

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.