Priti Patel retained in May’s minority govt
Osborne says PM a ‘dead woman walking’, Corbyn sees polls again
LONDON: Priti Patel, the only Indian-origin cabinet minister in the Theresa May government, was on Sunday retained in her role as international development secretary in the minority government as last Thursday’s elections continued to create waves in Brexitbound Britain.
Patel, who won from Witham with more votes than in the 2015 election, has been a leading figure in the Brexit camp, controversially promising relaxing of immigration controls for India and Commonwealth countries after leaving the European Union.
May made the new appointments in the context of continuing reverberations inside and outside her party over the election outcome that saw her party losing majority, forcing her to look for support from the Democratic Unionist Party based in Northern Ireland
May was called a “dead woman walking” as she continued to face anger from inside and outside her Conservative Party, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn saw another election coming soon to sort out the political situation in Brexit-bound Britain.
Sunday morning television saw leading lights across the political spectrum expound on the difficult political situation in the country, with former chancellor and Tory leader George Osborne calling May a “dead woman walking.”
Now a newspaper editor, Osborne said: “She is a dead woman walking and the only question is how long she remains on death row…(David Cameron) and I spent years getting back to office, winning in seats like Bath and Brighton and Oxford and I am angry when we go backwards and I am not afraid to say that.”
Corbyn said it was “quite possible” that there will be another election this year or early next year: “We cannot continue like this”, he said, while his shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said another election was “inevitable.”
There were already signs of problems for the Conservatives in reaching an agreement with Democratic Unionist Party to keep the minority government of May in power. There were differing versions on the ongoing talks in Belfast from 10 Downing Street and the DUP office.
A key issue is rooted in the history of trouble-torn Northern Ireland politics: the British government in London has been neutral in the conflict between the nationalists and unionists there.
DUP is one of the unionist parties, and the Conservative Party joining hands with it to remain in power in London disturbs the historic neutrality of London, most evident in the signing of the Good Friday agreement of 1998, which ushered in a period of peace.
May continued to be the target of attacks not only of pro-Labour newspapers but also of those who supported her during the election campaign.
Sunday headlines were no different from the trenchant ones a day after the election results were declared.
A cabinet meeting of the minority government is expected to be held on Monday.