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CONSERVATIVE AND LABOUR MPs are said to have met for secret talks, as Theresa May comes under increasing pressure for her failure to win a majority and her approach to Brexit.
Yesterday the Evening Standard – whose editor George Osborne was dropped as Chancellor of the Exchequer by May last year – reported that a group of “sensible” Tory MPs were meeting with their Labour counterparts to ensure a soft Brexit in the upcoming negotiations with the EU.
A senior cabinet minister told the Standard: “This is no longer a question just for Government. It is clear to me that Parliament will want to assert its role in a way it did not before.”
From a position of holding all the cards, Prime Minister May is now left with few options as she strives to reach a deal with the DUP to prop up her party and give it a majority in the House of Commons.
She told backbench MPs she was sorry and promised to get “them out of this mess” in a meeting yesterday.
In perhaps the strongest indication that May won’t have it all her own way in the Brexit negotiations, Conservative leader in Scotland Ruth Davidson has said that “this isn’t just going to be a Tory Brexit”. Davidson’s position in the party has been strengthened after they won 13 seats in the country.
She told the BBC: “I’m suggesting that the Conservative Party works with those both within the House of Commons and with people without to ensure that as we leave the EU, we have a Brexit that works for the economy and puts that first.
There was a real sense around the Cabinet table today, as you would expect from centre right politicians, that is the primacy we’re looking for.
Labour and its leader Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, were emboldened by Thursday’s election. MP for Streatham Chuka Umunna told LBC radio yesterday that the result had effectively ruled out a hard Brexit.
The ongoing negotiations with the DUP look set to delay the Queen’s Speech – the traditional beginning of a parliament where the Queen reads out the priorities of the incoming government.
“Obviously until we have that we can’t agree the final details of the Queen’s Speech,” said May’s deputy, Damian Green, referring to an agreement with the DUP.
May will meet DUP leader Arlene Foster later today.
Crunch time in Brussels
The political chaos in Westminster comes barely a week before the UK begins the formal negotiation process of leaving the EU.
Before that, May will travel to France this evening for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. They are due to have dinner together before attending the football friendly between France and England at the Stade de France.
The prime minister had hoped to be in the French capital with a strong popular mandate for a “hard” Brexit.
Instead she finds herself weakened and isolated as she meets Macron, a 39-year-old neophyte who rode to victory in last month’s presidential elections and is on course for a landslide victory in France’s legislature.
“Being seen to be the prime minister” could help “shore up her authority at home,” according to Colin Talbot, professor of government at the University of Manchester.
It could also be the place for May “to change her position on Brexit,” he added.
Since coming to power, May has advocated a “hard” Brexit, which would entail Britain leaving the European single market and cutting immigration from the bloc.
Macron and May are also expected to discuss the need for closer cooperation at the European level to fight terrorism, which they discussed at the G7 in Italy and at a NATO summit in Brussels late last month.
“I would expect that conversation to continue tomorrow. They may well discuss aspects of Brexit but the main focus will be on counterterrorism,” May’s spokesman said yesterday.
With reporting from AFP
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Hello, This is Mrs May. I would like to cancel my Sky subscription, but I still want to keep the sports and movies packages. Can you please arrange this for me?
@Jonathan Nolan: @Jonathan Nolan: given the fact that Britain borrowed 120 billion in the 1940′s to clean up Europe’s act’. How about we call it quits?
@Martin Critten: hmmm, I’m afraid we will have to come round and take the Sky box off ya so. Then we might call it quits..after you pay this months bill.
@Jonathan Nolan: yeah I know how dare the British democratically vote for something u don’t agree it and even worse think about there security, they deserve terrorist attacks now
@johnp: I never said anything about anyone deserving terrorist attacks. All terrorist attacks of any nature are uncalled for. For the record, I hope Europe do the right thing and share any information they have on terrorism with the British. I’m all for making the world a better and more peaceful place.
What I don’t like is how the British voters were told lies, fake news, or given no information at all on how leaving the EU would affect their daily lives, never mind their hip pocket. I’m all for fair democratic election, however for the leader of the Brexit campaign to come out the day after the result and say that his sides number one slogan on why the British public should leave the EU was in fact false, kind of proves my point that it was hardly democratic.
@johnp: as the Taoiseach said himself. Every aspect of life in Northern Ireland could be affected by the outcome of the border decision.
Jobs, The economy, The border , The rights of EU citizens, The rights of cross border workers
Research funding, Trade, Agriculture , Energy, Fisheries, Aviation, EU funding, Tourism, Public services.
Not one was outlined in Nigel Farage’s speeches. He never explained how beneficial it will be to leave the EU regarding any of these. Therefore selling a pup to the British public is hardly democratic.
My initial post was simply saying that May is now saying “Brexit means Brexit…except for..(insert list of things it’s great to be part of the EU for here)”
@Jonathan Nolan: so you wanted farage and the other brexiteers to campaign on a how bad brexit will be platform, that would be a novel approach I admit
@Jonathan Nolan: have u thought that maybe a lot of people who voted to leave were worried about these things but that they were more worried about the thousands of Eu migrants flocking to Britain every week and the fact that the EU refused to even discuss any changes
@Martin Critten: clean up Europe’s act???? Where did you learn your history, Britain?!
https://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/world-war-2-statistics.asp
@Jonathan Nolan: what kind of sign up deal do you do for canceled subscriptions?
@Martin Critten: __ The loans to Britain were made so that the American’s could clean up Europe’s act. The UK was on its last legs. Not only did Churchill sign up to the huge loans, he also gave away the UK’s family silver to the US, not to mention the gold reserves. The bonus gift was agreeing to have the US Dollar replace Sterling as the World trading currency.
@Jonathan Nolan: spot on i think she’s beginning to realise that brexit isn’t such a good idea after. When she made her bed she can now lie in it now.
@Shane Carroll: And the point of your statement is what ?
Simply do nothing ?
@Jonathan Nolan: Had Brussels offered Cameron more at the initial summit in Brussels before the referendum perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are now. Sky would at least try and compromise for a long standing customer who contributes 8 to 9 billion net, annually. Guess your monthly payment is going up to compensate for that insignificant shortfall.
@Finbarr Lucey: She was a remainer, she made that fairly clear from the beginning
@wattsed: my point is that Britain didn’t “clean up Europe’s act”. In fact if the Germans didn’t turn on the Russians then Britain would have been destroyed. It is estimated that up to 70% of the German forces were deployed on the Eastern front fighting the Russians when the D-day landings began.
@Jonathan Nolan: That really summarises what Brexit is about. Excellent.
@johnp: Brexiters couldn’t obviously campaign on any of that stuff..the important stuff that affects the voters hip pocket, because they would have been hammered in the polls. Why? Because the truth hurts. Basing your campaign on lies and deceit and telling the public that it was such a day after the vote (big red bus) isn’t, in my book, democracy. Democracy is based on the people getting true information up front, making an informed decision, and then voting whether they want this or not. This simply didn’t happen, and Farrage, a day after the brexiters won the majority admitted this himself. Is this really the way you would like your country to be run? By lies and deceit?! It’s more akin to a dictatorship than democracy. Promise the world when the complete opposite is in fact the truth
@johnp: EU migrants to Britain. Every EU country sets it’s own rules on who they let into their country. Considering these migrants were/are non EU citizens, it is up to Britain to decide who it let’s in, as it is up to Spain, Ireland, Germany etc to decide how many migrants they want to take. Britain do not have to leave the EU to solve this. This was just another lie by the Brexiters. Look into it if you are so concerned about it, and if you don’t believe me.
What leaving the EU does however mean for the people of Britain is it will now control how many EU citizens it allows in, and also prevents free travel for its own citizens to other EU countries meaning they will need work and travel visas to go as far as France or Ireland. This wasn’t explained before voting through, was it?
@kevinhunt101: new sign up deals. I think what you are after is something along the lines of the customs union package. But you can’t have that, as you wanted to leave it, so you want it in all but name. So how about we offer you today at a special offer, the “Union or Customs” package. I bet you are missing the Single Market package too. You can’t have that back either, but you still want that too in all but name. How about we give you the “Market of Singularity” package instead? Better still how about we give you the nothing package? Nothing… NOTHING!!!, YOU GET NOOOOTTTHHHHIIIIIINNNGGGG!! !!. Lol
@wattsed: they will just have to do with watching RTE and catching the highlights of the Premiership on BBC match of the day.
United are the people of Europe by our common non-Islamic fundamentalist values.
@Georgio Zizek: “terrorists dont care who they kill”. Is she talking about herself, tosspot blair or barack obambush?
@Georgio Zizek: we’re united against people who insist people only live as we do. We are united against people who tell other people how to live.
@Deborah Behan: Yeah like feminists making ring girls unemployed…..
If the UK population were concerned that Brexit might impact on their ability to fight terrorism why did they vote for Brexit?
@Mary Murphy: They were not concerned about this before the vote, as it was not written on any bus. It’s like the Irish border, customs union etc etc. All afterthoughts that were not explained in any detail by the leave campaign
@Mary Murphy: And nearly all UK terrorist incidents in recent years had nothing to do with the EU. Most were born in Britain or had come to live there under their own immigration laws.
@Jonathan Nolan: leave was simple. Do you want to be run by an unelected cabal, bringing in an agenda by the back door; or put your country’s sovereignty at risk being hooked into a flawed currency model; or protect your welfare budgets by at least having some control over boarders ? Today’s EU is far different than the expectations of the EEC.
@Reg: everything to do with the EU’s policies of the last 30 years accepting free movement of cash and people, radicalising the disenchanted just like here now in Clondalkin.
@Martin Critten: don’t forget to bend those bananas. Oh, and the blue passport (pants like a dog) yeah, yeah, the blue passports
@Martin Critten: Nonsense, more to do with the US, UK and others trying to bring ‘freedom’ to the middle east and north Africa.
@Mary Murphy: the same reason that Americans voted for Trump, or Clinton for that matter. Certain hardcore conservatives and eurosceptics and a bunch of impressionable red top rag readers rallied by nationalists, racists and liars.
Lets hope western Europe does not end up like NI in the seventies or even worse.
lest we all forget that Britain is singularly the most durable terrorising nation on the planet. How about protecting the people in Palestine for Zionist terror. That’s your mess Theresa. or the nationalists in Northern Ireland from DUP political terror. Thats’s your mess Theresa. Or the people of Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and so many other places where you stand hand in hand with America to bring freedom and democracy to all in exchange for their countries resources.
Theresa May needs to leave our field of view. She exemplifies the reasons why Cromwell, Churchill or Thatcher’s legacy is one of hatred filled millions everywhere you go. I never use certain words but there is one word that is so applicable to this Callous Untrustworthy Nasty Tyrant but I won’t use it.
@Living The Laws: i like how ya used the word. clever
Does the likes of May, ever research their own country’s history?
@Paul Culligan: Why would she need to ?, And if she did, how far would you wish her to go back and read ? _ the point of the exercise being what ?
@Paul Culligan: So what are you saying, the UK gov should let terrorists murder innocent children at a concert, or decapitate people in the street or blow up a packed train as a collective punishment for the crimes of history? Britain certainly is responsible historically for injustices on a large scale but it also gave the world the concept of individual liberty, the rule of law, liberal democracy, freedom of the press etc. History is a complicated thing.
Because the british have always shown compassion whilst invading countries and butchering their citizens
And you don’t care about reigniting the troubles.
Your comment is way below the belt. The UK provides a great deal of security intelligence to all in the EU, so much so that the heads of security for both France and Germany have lobbied to maintain that close relationship with their respective heads of Govt as early as last month. You’re welcome to assuming the role of GCHQ here in Ireland if you wish and help protect millions across Europe, indeed globally. With your own international outlook and intellectually stimulating thoughts, you should polish up your CV to run it. Reminder. ..”Leaving the EU, not Europe”
What terrorist ever cared about who they murder. The way they can justify the killing of innocent people kids women men constantly saying someone else done it so it’s ok for us to do it! 1 question: What innocent deserves their life being taken in the name of someone’s ideals?
Most terrorist atrocities in these parts were carried out by IRAs.
@Adam Reid:
You must have been born yesterday.
Most terrorist atrocities in these parts were carried out by the Brits Adam.
She says there won’t be a second referendum. Despite the first being built on lies & misinformation. It’s not about the EU. It’s a crazed Tory Power grab. They are planning to use this to destroy various worker’s rights. They have already abused disabled people breaching United Nation protections whilst doing it. Brexit is a chance for the “Nasty Party” to shine. (Can anyone get me an Irish Passport!)
The echo of suspicion and fear…
@miss kelight raymond: there’s a typo
it should say
C. E. O. Mr Noonan
More people murdered in Britain yearly by britons than terriosts maybe sort your house out before scare mongering
What’s she about.
@Paul Coughlan: May or miss kelight raymond ? not sure who is more reliable.
Well judging by the sheer inaccuracy of UK “smart bombs” and the supply of cluster weapons to Saudi Arabia I don’t think the Brits give a damn who they kill either. ignorant, hypocritical and immoral sums up the west they are no worse than those they fight.
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