Calls for a halt to alliance between May and the DUP
PROTESTERS DUE TO MEET IN CITY AS PM TALKS TO IRISH PARTY
Reporter PROTESTERS plan to gather on Tyneside today to demand Prime Minister Theresa May walks away from any alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party.
The Prime Minister is expected to sit down with DUP leader Arlene Foster tomorrow to negotiate an agreement which may see Northern Irish MPs support the Conservative Party on a ‘confidence and supply’ basis, after Mrs May failed to secure a full majority at the General Election.
But an event planned for 5.30pm today at Grey’s Monument will see demonstrators demand that the Prime Minister find a different way to form her Government – or step down.
Newcastle councillor Dipu Ahad, one of those who organised the rally, co-hosted by Newcastle Unites, the People’s Assembly North East and Stand up to Racism North East, said he had serious concerns about the party which could hold significant power in Parliament.
He said: “Theresa May’s confidence is slashed and she’s damaged at the moment, but is the best alternative for her to make a partnership with a group who are known to be homophobic, known to be racist, and who have a history of violence?” Many DUP members have strongly socially conservative views. Ian Paisley Jr, son of the party’s founder Ian Paisley, has called homosexuality “immoral, offensive and obnoxious” and said he was “repulsed” by gays and lesbians. The party opposes same sex marriage and abortion, and once appointed climate change denier Sammy Wilson as its environment minister. Like their opponents Sinn Fein, the DUP have explicitly rejected the violence which marred Northern Ireland’s history, but both parties have historical links to the country’s turbulent past.
On Sunday, Ireland’s Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, highlighted his “concern” about the potential impact of any arrangement on the Good Friday Agreement.
He tweeted: “Spoke with prime minister May – indicated my concern that nothing should happen to put Good Friday Agreement at risk,