Senior members of British Prime Minister Theresa May's government rallied to her defense Monday amid doubts over her ability to remain in power following a disastrous election result.
The speech would be at risk of being voted down if the DUP did not reach an agreement with the Tories.
"She said she will serve us as long as we want her".
"Being seen to be the prime minister" could help "shore up her authority at home", according to Colin Talbot, professor of government at the University of Manchester. She's lost an election she promised not to have and is now in a terribly weak position to start the [Brexit] negotiations in which she hasn't got anything to say, which she might not be able to have anyway.
But rumors swirled of plots to oust May. "There was was none of the Maybot", the person added, claiming that any talk of a leadership challenge had been silenced, for now at least. He tweeted that an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper headlined "Boris set to launch bid to be PM as May clings on" was "tripe".
The prime minister said she had tapped experience across the "whole of the Conservative Party" when she appointed Mr Michael Gove, a long-serving cabinet minister who had clashed with Mrs May when she was home secretary, as agriculture minister. Labour surpassed expectations by winning 262. But few believe she can hang on for more than a few months.
She also signaled she's willing to rethink her approach to Brexit.
In the wake of Friday's setback, Conservative figures have said the party needs to learn the lessons of its failure to win an overall majority and change direction in some key areas.
"Their position reflects the views of the overwhelming majority of people in Northern Ireland as well as a solid block of opinion in Britain". The Evening Standard, edited by ex-Treasury chief George Osborne, reported that Cabinet ministers have initiated talks with Labour lawmakers to come up with a "softer", less hard-line divorce from the EU.
Despite suggestions over the weekend that Boris Johnson was preparing a leadership bid, nearly all the MPs exiting the meeting said there was no desire for May to step down immediately, especially with Brexit negotiations due to begin next week.
Voters failed to give a ringing endorsement to May's plan for Brexit, which involves leaving the EU's single market and imposing restrictions on immigration while trying to negotiate free trade deal with the bloc. Brexit will likely be on the agenda at the Paris meeting, after May confirmed she will stick to the negotiating timetable.
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Lawmakers, who are by tradition not named at such meetings, told Reuters that there were no dissenting voices and that the party had no appetite for a leadership election.
However she still faces a potentially tricky meeting the same day with DUP leader Arlene Foster to finalise a deal on propping up her minority government.
Currently, the Tories and the DUP are considering a "confidence and supply" arrangement which would see the loyalist party back the Government to get its Budget through and on confidence motions.
Mrs May was attempting to thrash out a pact with Mrs Foster at a meeting in Downing Street to prevent the collapse of her administration.
The alliance makes some modernizing Conservatives uneasy.
DUP social conservatism - including its opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion - has caused concern, including for some within the Conservative Party.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said there was an "ambiguity" about both what would go in it - with several manifesto pledges expected to be watered down or dropped - but also the need for the Tories to "nail down" DUP support.
If they really wish to overcome the current turbulence and strike a good deal with the European Union, which is vital for their country's stability and prosperity, it is incumbent on May, the Conservatives and other political leaders and parties to put aside their narrow interests and work together.
It comes as the Northern Ireland assembly remains gridlocked over talks to restore power-sharing between Sinn Féin and the DUP.
"The UK has had a reputation, earned over the generations, for stability and predictability in its government", said a senior executive at a multinational company listed on the London FTSE 100, speaking on condition of anonymity.





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