DuP have hard-line on abortion and gay marriage

ALL ears will be cocked this weekend for whispers from closely-guarded talks between the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionists.

The question of what the party stands for was in such demand that it hit the top of Google search trends as the fallout from Westminster’s hung parliament hit home.

The DUP are fervent supporters of Brexit and hold a hard-line on some social issues, including refusing to budge on liberalising abortion or allowing gay marriage.

So what comes out of the backroom discussions with the Tories will be telling, both for the ambitions of the next government but also the impact they have on Northern Ireland politics.

Gregory Campbell, DUP MP in East Londonderry, set the ground rules before discussions were even scheduled.

“Where we can get a good deal and they agree with us, we will vote with them. If they attempt to put something in place that is a bad deal for everybody in Northern Ireland we will oppose it,” he said.

“Should it be down to one vote, that remains the case. We are not Northern Ireland Conservatives.”

Among the key priorities for the unionists will be the vexed issue of the legacy of the Troubles and the idea that Army and police veterans who served in Northern Ireland should be protected from prosecution.

Westminster’s Defence Committee has already urged a statute of limitations for soldiers on tours since the late 1960s after a number were charged with offences related to the 30-year conflict.

Gay marriage is a complete no-no for the DUP.

DUP leader Arlene Foster herself spoke of the “chill factor” affecting religious groups in Northern Ireland in the wake of the “gay cake” court case.

It ruled that Ashers, a familyowned bakery, discriminated by refusing to make a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan.

Ms Foster also accused the NI Equality Commission, which took the case, of favouring the “metropolitan liberal elite” definition of equality.

Abortion is another social issue which the DUP will not want to shift on.

The party wants no extension to Northern Ireland’s limitations on terminations, which restrict the procedure to when a woman’s life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health.

As it stands, fatal foetal abnormalities, rape and incest are not grounds for an abortion.