The 10 elected members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from Northern Ireland may have a disproportionate word in Brexit negotiations, after the ruling Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament Thursday.
May’s Conservative Party came just a few votes shy of an outright majority in the Parliament requiring them to work with a small party to secure a majority voting bloc. May indicated Friday she would attempt to form a minority government with the support of the DUP.
The DUP, however, has spoken in the past against some of the elements of May’s vision for a “hard Brexit”
“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 announced Friday. “As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies, in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular,” May added.
May made a “hard Brexit” a center piece of her election campaign. The policy essentially means the U.K. would withdraw from the European Union single market and limit the ability of EU citizens to live and work freely within the country. DUP leader Arlene Foster has said in the past “no-one wants to see a ‘hard’ Brexit, what we want to see is a workable plan to leave the European Union.”
A “soft Brexit” could include multiple trade deals between the U.K. and EU countries or a treaty between the two granting the U.K. access to the single market while also letting them negotiate their own outside trade deals.
These visions of Brexit are once again brought to the forefront after the Thursday election. The U.K. government has already triggered EU Article 50 officially withdrawing from the union but trade negotiations still must follow. The DUP can now leverage its newfound power to effectively set the policy of Brexit going forward.
Foster confirmed to reporters Friday she is working with May to explore possibilities going forward but offered no specifics. “The prime minister has spoken with me this morning, and we will enter discussion with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge,” she said.
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