Talks between the Tories and Democratic Unionist Party aimed at shoring up Theresa May's position in Parliament in the United Kingdom were continuing today.
It comes as the party has accused the DUP of betraying the interests of Northern Ireland by agreeing to prop up a Conservative minority government.
May's weakness means she must now listen to all shades of opinion on Brexit as she goes into Britain's most complex negotiations since World War Two.But May faces a hard balancing act: Divisions over Europe helped sink the premierships of Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron, and many of her lawmakers and party membership support a sharp break with the EU."The Tory civil war on the EU which has ripped it apart since the Maastricht rebellions of the early 1990s, and which the referendum was supposed to solve, is now raging again", said Chris Grey, an academic who specialises in Brexit at Royal Holloway in London.
Brexit Minister David Davis said on Monday that the minority government still plans to take Britain out of the single market, noting that most Britons voted for either the Conservative or Labour parties which both said they back such an exit.
May had called the vote early in hopes of strengthening her majority going into talks on exiting the European Union.
After the Labour party made hefty electoral gains by focusing heavily on social issues, May listed areas such as education and housing as top policy priorities.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, which saw its number of parliamentary seats and share of the vote increase, said there could be another election this year or early in 2018 after last Thursday's vote produced no clear victor.
She said: "I think there is a unity of goal among people in the United Kingdom". During the election campaign, May had used the "coalition of chaos" phrase to describe what a victory for Labour would look like.
"What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the general election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and the ability to provide that certainty, by commanding a majority in the House of Commons", May said outside No. 10 Downing St., using the full name of her party.
May is under pressure to take on a more cross-party approach to Brexit talks.
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It was a surprise move - Gove was sacked as justice minister by May previous year after his bid to become party leader forced now-foreign minister Boris Johnson from the race, amid accusations of treachery and political backstabbing.
"It's going to be hard, there's no doubt about that, but perhaps an opportunity to consult more widely with the other parties on how best we can achieve it", he said at a conference in Poland, the Financial Times reported.
The DUP leader is nearly certain to ask for greater investment in Northern Ireland as the price of a deal.
Though Foster supported Brexit, she also might demand that May pursue a cushioned exit from the European Union, given her party's wish that a soft border remain between Northern Ireland and Ireland, an European Union member.
Even the idea of an alliance is complicated, however. Some involved in the Irish peace process are alarmed because the 1998 Good Friday peace accords call for the British government to be neutral in the politics of Northern Ireland.
Foster's rivals in Northern Ireland, such as Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams, have objected.
The stakes for May are high.
Without a so-called confidence and supply deal with the DUP, her party risks losing the vote next week on the Queen's Speech, which lays out the agenda for the government.
It is believed that the last time Mrs May and Mr Corbyn saw each other was at the last session of Prime Minister's Questions, seven weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the chief European Union negotiator has told the Financial Times that the clock is ticking on Brexit talks, and that Britain should be wary of further delays.
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