Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Updated 2.50pm
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has visited Buckingham Palace this lunchtime to ask the Queen’s permission to form a government, despite losing an overall majority in yesterday’s general election.
She said that she would work “friends and allies” in the DUP to support a Conservative government.
Speaking this afternoon however, DUP leader Arlene Foster said that she had spoke to May and was “exploring how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation”.
“I have just been to see her majesty, the Queen, and I will now form a government,” May said.
This government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks in 10 days time. It will work to keep our nation safe and secure by delivering the change I set out following the appalling attacks in Manchester and in London.
May said that the government “would fulfil the promise of Brexit” and deliver “on the will of the people”. She said no one and no community would be left behind.
What the country needs is certainty… it is clear that only the Conservative and the Unionist Party has that certainty to provide a majority in the House of Commons.
She said the Tories would work with the DUP “in particular”. She said their close ties would ensure they could effectively work together.
May concluded that people had voted for Brexit and now it’s time “to get to work”.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are set to act as kingmakers, by giving May enough votes to regain a majority in the House of Commons.
The Conservatives won 318 seats in the election, falling short of the 326 needed for a majority, but support from the DUP and its 10 seats will see it over the line.
Foster said that the election was “a great result for the Union” and “a clear and resounding message” had been sent to those who would seek to break it up.
“The union is our guiding star,” she said.
She said that the DUP would work to achieve the best for the people of Northern Ireland and the Union as a whole.
The DUP leader added that she had spoken with Theresa May this morning and would “enter discussions” with a view to providing stability, but failed to provide details on how the party would support a Conservative government.
Earlier, a DUP source told The Guardian: “We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable.
For as long as Corbyn leads Labour, we will ensure there’s a Tory PM.
It is not believed that they will enter into a formal coalition government, but the DUP will support the Tories nonetheless.
Since the Brexit vote, the DUP has campaigned against affording a “special status” to Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the EU. Sinn Féin, however, has strongly called for this on numerous occasions.
In a statement this morning, Gerry Adams said that the “Irish government needs to seize the initiative to secure designated special status for the North as part of the Brexit negotiations”.
Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said in a statement that the election result indicates “there is no strong mandate to proceed with a hard Brexit, which represents an opportunity for Ireland.
The early restoration of the Executive in Northern Ireland is also a priority. There is now a strong opportunity for the parties in Northern Ireland to re-engage in discussions to form an Executive.
May met the Queen at 12.30pm this afternoon, defying earlier calls from the opposition and some of her own MPs to step down.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told party activists today that May was “arrogant” and “vain” and should step down.
“She should consider her future – and then, for once, she should consider the future of the country,” he said.
Also speaking today, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said that the “reckless Tory pursuit of a hard Brexit has to be abandoned” and warned of an “unstable administration” under May and the DUP.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The producers are bluffing the EU, Ireland is doing it right. Aldi and Lidl do this here too – you can see exactly where the fish was caught, how it was caught and even the scientific name of the kind of fish. It obviously doesn’t cost Aldi and Lidl huge amounts to respect customers enough to supply information.
New law! How about enforcing the old laws that would be a start.
Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
This is why intelligent humans choose vegetarianism.
@Tommy_Bannon: Closing the stable door after the horse was eaten , to be more precise
Don’t forget there are plenty of intelligent people who eat meat too.
If you want to be healthy try cutting animal products from your diet. Processed meat that comes in a packet can’t be good for you. Either can milk from another animal that full of hormones and puss..
European milk does not contain hormones or ‘puss’. Every delivery from every farm is checked for temperature, antibiotics, bacteria etc. So stop spreading downright lies about the food we produce.
@Mick: of course there’s hormones in milk. You do realise dairy cows are constantly impregnated to produce milk. Cows like women are full of hormones while pregnant and those naturally produced hormones go into their milk to help bulk up calves. Its not intended for human consumption.. If you’re happy drinking and eating another animals milk go ahead.. Each to their own i suppose
I’m a dairy farmer myself. I understand completely the process works. What you are implying is false though. Natural, grass fed milk contains nothing untoward, we’ve been drinking milk for thousands of years. It’s when people start adding sugar and salt, E numbers and artificial chemical additives is when the trouble starts.
@Mick: Mick im not implying anything false. Cows milk is full of hormones, hormones that nature intends to help calves bulk up hundreds of pounds. It is not intended for children or adults to consume.
The natural hormones in milk are not in unusual quantities to cause any harm in humans. The levels of protein, butterfat etc in the 6L+ of milk that a calf consumes are responsible for growth. Generations of Irish people have eaten beef, dairy, eggs etc without issue. Obesity has only become an issue in this country since the 70′s, due to the advent of cheap, highly processed foods, the likes of coca cola with 30g+ of sugar per serving.
@Cosmo Kramer: backtrack much?
What about products labelled as Irish but brought down from the Uk?
No mention of take always etc imposing their religious beliefs on you, if you buy a ham pizza at many hundred placed you may be served dyed turkey NOT ham because these people don’t have any respect for you, nor your freedom to eat what you choose. It is often written on menu boards but often it won’t; it is dishonest but not illegal make sure your ham is not turkey meat dyed pink a common practice these days but The EU respect our rights on these issues.
Any particular reason a Lidl own-brand product was chosen to illustrate the story? Is there something we should be told?
Anybody .anywhere.here or abroad held accountable for putting shit into our food in the form of un regulated horse meat?anyone..
have your say