‘Dead woman walking’ May races to form government
LONDON: A former Conservative rival condemned British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday as a “dead woman walking” as she raced to secure the support she needs to stay in power following a disastrous election.
May’s office was forced to backtrack late Saturday after announcing that an outline deal had been agreed with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a government, admitting that talks were still ongoing.
Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, a member of May’s Conservative party, told the BBC: “What we do have now is an understanding of the outline proposals that would underpin that working agreement.”
But the confusion reinforced a sense of chaos at the heart of government just days before Britain starts the complex and fraught negotiations on leaving the EU.
May has struggled to reassert her authority after losing her parliamentary majority in Thursday’s snap election, which she had been under no pressure to call.
The Sunday newspapers carried reports that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was set to launch a bid to oust her, although he dismissed them as “tripe.”
Former party leaders have warned any immediate leadership challenge would be too disruptive, but most commentators believe May cannot survive in the long-term.
Former Conservative finance minister George Osborne, who May sacked after taking office after the Brexit vote last June, said she was now a “dead woman walking.”
With the new government set to present its legislative program to Parliament on June 19, the clock is ticking on efforts to bolster the Conservatives’ position after they won just 318 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.
DUP leader Arlene Foster is to meet with May in London on Tuesday to discuss their arrangement, Sky News reported.
Fallon said it would not be a formal coalition, instead the DUP’s 10 MPs would support the government “on the big things” such as the budget, defense issues and Brexit.
He stressed he did not share their ultra-conservative views on issues such as abortion, which have caused disquiet among many Conservatives.
More than 600,000 people have signed a petition condemning the alliance, saying it is a “disgusting, desperate attempt to stay in power.”
There have also been concerns that joining forces with the hardline Protestant party threatens London’s neutrality in Northern Ireland, which is key to the delicate balance of power in a province once plagued by violence.
Foster told Sky News her party had had “very good discussions” with the Conservatives on Saturday and these would continue while refusing to say what she will demand from any deal.
“We will of course act in the in the national interest and do what is right for the whole of the UK,” she said.