Minister Theresa May told Britain’s newly returned parliament on Tuesday that the country needed to come together to face the challenges of leaving the European Union and maintaining security after recent attacks by Islamist militants.
“As we face difficult challenges ahead, let us come together in a spirit of national unity to keep our country safe and build a stronger, fairer and more prosperous future for everyone in every part of our United Kingdom,” she said.
May lost her Conservative Party’s majority in parliament in an election last week, raising questions about how she will proceed with her plan to take Britain out of the EU and with other legislation.
May neared a deal with a Northern Irish Protestant party to save her premiership on Tuesday as she came under intense pressure to soften her approach to Brexit days before the start of formal EU divorce talks.
May’s botched election gamble, which saw her lose her parliamentary majority, left her so weakened that supporters of closer ties with the European Union publicly demanded she take a more consensual and business-friendly approach to Brexit.
In an attempt to avoid a second election that could deepen Britain’s worst political turmoil since last June’s shock vote to leave the EU, May held talks with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on Tuesday.
She met DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose eurosceptic Northern Irish party has 10 parliamentary seats, for over one hour of talks in Downing Street, though both May and Foster later left through different exits.
“Discussions are going well with the government,” Foster said on Twitter. “We hope soon to be able to bring this work to a successful conclusion.”
(Source: Reuters/NAN)