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| Election latest: DUP agrees to principles of outline 'confidence and supply' deal to support Conservatives | Election latest: DUP agrees to principles of outline 'confidence and supply' deal to support Conservatives |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Theresa May looks set to be propped up by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) as she attempts to run a minority government following the Conservatives' disastrous performance at the General Election. | |
| Downing Street said an outline agreement on a “confidence and supply” arrangement had been reached and will be put to the Cabinet for discussion on Monday. | |
| The 10 MPs from the Northern Irish party could prove crucial in supporting the Conservatives on key votes after Thursday's election saw Ms May lose control of the Commons. | |
| Ms May faced calls to resign and fierce criticism for calling the snap general election after the Conservatives fell well short of their own expectations winning just 318 seats. A total of 326 seats is needed for a majority in the Commons, and attempts to run a minority government are normally doomed to fail because of the inability to get any legislation through Parliament, meaning an arrangement with another party is necessary. | |
| An agreement of confidence and supply means the supporting party will back the Government in motions of confidence and appropriation by either voting in favour of abstaining, while retaining the right to vote otherwise in matters of conscience. | |
| It is not a formal arrangement in the way of the coalition which the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats entered into in 2010. | |
| A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We can confirm that the Democratic Unionist Party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative Government on a confidence and supply basis when Parliament returns next week. | A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We can confirm that the Democratic Unionist Party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative Government on a confidence and supply basis when Parliament returns next week. |
| "We welcome this commitment, which can provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond. | |
| “The details will be put forward for discussion and agreement at a Cabinet meeting on Monday.” | “The details will be put forward for discussion and agreement at a Cabinet meeting on Monday.” |
| It is not known what concessions the Conservatives have agreed to in order to secure the support of the DUP, a party with religious origins and a known historical association with Unionist terrorist groups. | |
| The Conservative Chief Whip Gavin Williamson held hastily arranged talks with his DUP counterpart in Belfast today after a hung Parliament result was confirmed on the early hours of Friday morning. | |
| The decision by the Conservatives to form such an agreement with the DUP is controversial, with more than half a million people already signing a petition opposing such an arrangement. | |
| Members of the DUP are known for their socially conservative beliefs, such as opposition to gay marriage and a desire to restrict abortion. | |
| The party is led by Arlene Foster in Northern Ireland and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in Westminster. It is the largest single party in Northern Ireland and is pro-Brexit as well as pro-Union. | |
| Ahead of the announcement, a former DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly said he does not expect a deal to last more than 12 or 18 months. | |
| Alastair Ross told BBC Radio Ulster's Inside Politics programme he did not believe any agreement between the Conservatives and the DUP would be a formal arrangement. | |
| "I would have thought the DUP would want to have as much flexibility in any arrangement as they can get, because they will not want to get tied into some of the less popular things," he said. | |
| "They (the DUP) would perhaps support them (the Conservatives) in a budget and the Queen's Speech, but allow themselves the flexibility to take different positions to the Conservative Party if it's in the interests of Northern Ireland to do so. | |
| "I'd be very, very surprised if there's any sort of formal arrangement." | |
| The last time the UK Government was run on a confidence and supply basis was between 1077 and 1079 when Jin Callaghan's Labour Party remained in power thanks to such an arrangement with the Liberal Party, known as the Lib-Lab pact. In return, the Labour Party agreed to some modest concessions required by the Liberals. | |
| More follows… | More follows… |