After a snap General Election in the United Kingdom meant to boost the number of Conservative seats, on June 8, Theresa May and the rest of the country instead found themselves with a hung parliament. A week later, the UK still does not have a solid government. So what’s going on?
Theresa May called an unnecessary general election in the hopes of receiving a clear mandate from the citizens of the United Kingdom: that they trust her and her Conservative government to carry the country through the historic upcoming Brexit negotiations. She expected to increase her party’s majority in Parliament, but instead, the Conservatives lost ten seats and their majority.
May formally asked Queen Elizabeth II for permission to form a minority government, which would mean a coalition or informal deal would be necessary with another party. Enter the DUP.
Will the DUP save May?
The DUP, or the Democratic Unionist Party, are one of two main parties in Northern Ireland. The DUP stand for a strong relationship with Britain as a key part of the United Kingdom. Sinn Fein, their opposition, are Irish nationalists notorious for not even attending their seats in the Westminster parliament as a form of protest against the Union.
May is currently attempting to form a deal with the DUP in order to make her Minority Government tenable, but that move could easily cause tensions in Northern Ireland, where peace is still shaky, to rise even higher.
In addition to these fears, rumors regarding the deal seem to suggest that the DUP will not enter a full coalition with the Conservatives, only backing the Tories on key Brexit issues.
NI Unionists are passionate about our United Kingdom. The DUP will use our influence for the best deal for NI, and the good of the nation. https://t.co/4zxfq73Gi0
— Diane Dodds MEP (@DianeDoddsMEP) June 13, 2017
The lengthy negotiations seem to indicate that May is struggling to cede to the DUP’s demands, which mainly involve a large increase in funding to Northern Ireland at a time when funding for UK social services, such as the NHS, are in crisis.
Critics of the general election point to the Conservative’s policies of austerity as a key reason they lost so many seats in parliament, so sending extra money to Northern Ireland when it's desperately needed at home will not go down well with voters.
Will the Conservatives lose Downing Street?
While May negotiates an agreement with the DUP, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour party, has repeatedly declared his readiness to form a minority government if she fails.
Labour could potentially form an alliance with the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), the Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems), Plaid Cymru, and the Green Party, who all want to keep the Tories out of power. However, the seats from all of these parties total only 314, while the Conservatives alone hold 318. This means Jeremy Corbyn has even less of a mandate from the people of the UK to form a minority government than Theresa May.
Although it definitely appears that May is struggling, her party still has the strongest claim to form a minority government. However, the clock is ticking on her deal with the DUP before Corbyn tries to make his move.
