LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May neared a deal with a Northern Irish Protestant party to save her premiership on Tuesday as she came under intense pressure to soften her approach to Brexit days before the start of formal EU divorce talks.
May’s botched election gamble, which saw her lose her parliamentary majority, left her so weakened that supporters of closer ties with the European Union publicly demanded she take a more consensual and business-friendly approach to Brexit.
In an attempt to avoid a second election that could deepen Britain’s worst political turmoil since last June’s shock vote to leave the EU, May held talks with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on Tuesday.
She met DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose eurosceptic Northern Irish party has 10 parliamentary seats, for over one hour of talks in Downing Street, though both May and Foster later left through different exits.
“Discussions are going well with the government,” Foster said on Twitter. “We hope soon to be able to bring this work to a successful conclusion.”
A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment. But a deal with the DUP risks destabilising the political balance in Northern Ireland by increasing the influence of pro-British unionists who have struggled for years with Irish Catholic nationalists who want Northern Ireland to join a united Ireland.
Former prime minister John Major said he was concerned a deal with the DUP could thrust the province back towards violence nearly two decades since a US-brokered peace deal brought peace to Northern Ireland.
While the DUP are deeply eurosceptic, they have balked at some of the practical implications of a so-called hard Brexit — including a potential loss of a “frictionless border” with the Republic of Ireland — and talks will touch on efforts to minimise the potential damage to Northern Ireland.
With formal EU divorce talks due next week, May was heading to France on Tuesday to meet Emmanuel Macron, who last month swept to victory in its presidential election.
During the campaign, May cast herself as the only leader competent enough to navigate the tortuous Brexit negotiations that will shape the future of the United Kingdom and its $2.5 trillion economy.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, which saw its number of parliamentary seats and share of the vote increase, said there could be another election this year or early in 2018 after Thursday’s vote produced no clear winner.
May, who ahead of the June referendum supported remaining in the EU, has promised to start the Brexit talks next week but opponents of a sharp break with the EU took her woes as a chance to push back against her strategy.
Before the election, May proposed a clean break from the EU, involving withdrawal from Europe’s single market, limits on immigration and a bespoke customs deal with the EU.
— Reuters
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