Previously, she said she wanted to take Britain out of the EU's single market and customs union in order to cut immigration. The turmoil engulfing May has increased the chance that Britain will fall out of the EU in 2019 without a deal.
The Observer newspaper said the DUP arrangement fell short of a full coalition agreement because of concerns among some Conservative lawmakers about the socially conservative DUP's positions on gay rights, abortion and climate change. It aligns London more closely with the pro-British side in the divided province, where a power-sharing government with Irish nationalists is suspended. Still the deal with the DUP risks upsetting the political balance in Northern Ireland. That means it will support a Conservative minority government on key votes in parliament without a formal coalition deal.Ī source close to the DUP said the party was seeking more funding for the province and concessions for former British soldiers in exchange for supporting May.
The DUP, whose 10 seats in the new parliament give May just enough support to pass legislation, agreed in principle to a "confidence and supply" arrangement, Downing Street said. Most of May's cabinet members have kept quiet on the issue of her future, adding to speculation that her days as prime minister are numbered.Ī YouGov poll for the Sunday Times newspaper found 48 percent of people felt May should quit while 38 percent thought she should stay. The change was unlikely to significantly quell unrest within the party. The Conservative lawmaker who lost his seat on Thursday and has experience working as a party enforcer in parliament. Gavin Barwell was named new chief of staff.
May's aides, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill quit on Saturday following sustained criticism within the party of the campaign. May called the early election in April, when opinion polls suggested she was set for a sweeping win. Newspapers said foreign minister Boris Johnson and other leading party members were weighing leadership challenges. As May struggled to contain the fallout, her two closest aides resigned. Instead, voters stripped the Conservatives of their parliamentary majority. It was a humiliating outcome after an election that May had intended to strengthen her ahead of the Brexit push. Her Conservatives struck an outline deal with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for support on key legislation.