{"id":395182,"date":"2017-06-11T15:07:15","date_gmt":"2017-06-11T15:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2017\/06\/11\/general-election-2017-fallon-defends-dup-government-deal\/"},"modified":"2017-06-11T15:07:15","modified_gmt":"2017-06-11T15:07:15","slug":"general-election-2017-fallon-defends-dup-government-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/06\/11\/general-election-2017-fallon-defends-dup-government-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"General election 2017: Fallon defends DUP government \u2018deal\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
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A Conservative deal with the Democratic Unionist Party would only apply to \u201cbig issues\u201d like the economy and security, the defence secretary has said.<\/p>\n
Sir Michael Fallon said the parties were seeking an agreement \u2013 which would not be a formal coalition \u2013 to keep a minority Tory government in power.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Andrew Marr, Sir Michael also distanced himself from the DUP\u2019s conservative stance on social issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean we now agree with all their views,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
DUP leader Arlene Foster is expected to hold talks in Downing Street on Tuesday with Prime Minister Theresa May.<\/p>\n
Mrs May is under pressure after losing the Tories\u2019 Commons majority in Thursday\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/figure>\nTheresa May and her husband attended church, as arguments over a deal with the DUP continue<\/figure>\n
In the latest fallout from the result, which confounded pollsters and left the UK with a hung Parliament:<\/p>\n
\n
An influential Conservative MP predicted Tory manifesto policies including on grammar schools would have to be \u201cslimmed down\u201d<\/li>\n
Mrs May was accused of putting her party interest above the Northern Ireland peace process with the planned DUP alliance<\/li>\n
Jeremy Corbyn said he could still be PM and would try to amend the Queen\u2019s Speech<\/li>\n
Former Tory Chancellor George Osborne described Mrs May as a \u201cdead woman walking\u201d<\/li>\n
Mr Fallon said Mrs May would have to adopt a more \u201ccollective\u201d approach to making decisions<\/li>\n
Pro-EU Conservatives predicted the outcome of the general election would change the government\u2019s approach to Brexit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Overnight there was confusion over the status of an agreement with the DUP, with Downing Street initially saying the principles had been agreed before issuing another statement saying negotiations continued.<\/p>\n
The DUP were as \u201csurprised as anybody\u201d by Downing Street\u2019s original announcement, the BBC understands.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be very, very surprising if something as important and complex as this was stitched together in a single day of talks in Belfast,\u201d Sir Michael said.<\/p>\n
Ms Foster told Sky News \u201cdiscussions continue\u201d about forming a \u201cnational government\u201d to bring stability to the nation.<\/p>\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
She said the parties had made \u201cgood progress\u201d so far.<\/p>\n
The arrangement being sought is known as \u201cconfidence and supply\u201d, under which the Tories could rely on DUP support in key votes like Budgets and no-confidence motions.<\/p>\n
Sir Michael did not reveal what the DUP had been offered in return, but said the \u201coutline proposal\u201d would be published once a deal had been agreed.<\/p>\n
The DUP, which has 10 MPs after the election, has garnered a reputation for its strong and controversial views on a number of social issues.<\/p>\n
It opposes same-sex marriage and is anti-abortion \u2013 with abortion remaining illegal in Northern Ireland, except in specific medical cases.<\/p>\n
Some Conservatives raised concerns about an alliance between the parties, with Scottish leader Ruth Davidson seeking assurances over LGBT rights from Mrs May.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because they\u2019re going to support us on the big economic issues, it doesn\u2019t mean we agree with all their views \u2013 we don\u2019t,\u201d Sir Michael said.<\/p>\n
He also said power-sharing talks between Sinn Fein and the DUP in Northern Ireland would be unaffected by the Conservatives\u2019 reliance on the unionist party at Westminster.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have already had a friendship with the DUP that goes back many years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
What do the DUP want from a deal?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span><\/figure>\n
Political sources in Belfast say the DUP manifesto and a document they published in 2015 give a guide to what they will be want from any deal.<\/p>\n
The 2015 Northern Ireland Plan was specifically designed for a hung parliament situation.<\/p>\n
At that time the DUP hoped to be the kingmakers for either Labour or the Conservatives. At its heart is a financial package: real terms increases in health and education spending over five years, more money for infrastructure and help with transforming public services.<\/p>\n
Those could all come with hefty price tags.<\/p>\n
There are other more specific measures in the 2017 manifesto such as the abolition of air passenger duty (APD) in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
One senior source also put it to me, with some hyperbole, that the DUP could \u201ckill austerity\u201d.<\/p>\n
By that they meant that DUP manifesto opposes the ending of the \u201ctriple lock\u201d on state pensions and the means testing of winter fuel allowance. Whether they want to see the roll-back of benefit cuts announced, but not yet implemented remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
On Brexit the DUP does not like the idea that \u201cno deal is better than a bad deal\u201d.<\/p>\n
Crashing out of the EU with no transitional arrangements could be hugely damaging to Northern Ireland\u2019s trade with the Republic of Ireland. The party also wants to kill off the idea of a \u2018special status\u2019 which would see Northern Ireland more closely aligned with the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.<\/p>\n
Analysis: DUP deals and dialogue<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/figure>\n
But Sinn Fein, which does not take its seats at Westminster, said the DUP had \u201cbetrayed the interests of the people\u201d and the new arrangement would \u201cend in tears\u201d.<\/p>\n
Labour\u2019s former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the planned deal was \u201cdodgy\u201d and \u201cunsustainable\u201d \u2013 and also \u201cirresponsible for the Northern Ireland peace process\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea that the British government could be taking sides, having been the guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent peace agreements is really troubling,\u201d she told Sky News.<\/p>\n
\n
Why Queen\u2019s Speech is a big test for May<\/li>\n
The two ex-advisors under attack over election strategy<\/li>\n
John Curtice: Six key lessons from election result<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The new Parliamentary arithmetic means the Conservatives will need other parties\u2019 backing to get any new laws passed \u2013 and Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, predicted this would change their party\u2019s policy plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no point in sailing ahead with items that were in our manifesto which we won\u2019t get through Parliament,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Brady said there was \u201cno doubt\u201d the Queen\u2019s Speech \u2013 due on 19 June \u2013 would be \u201cslimmed down\u201d, including plans for an expansion of grammar schools in England.<\/p>\n
These could be reduced to a \u201cmodest pilot\u201d in certain areas, he predicted.<\/p>\n
A Conservative deal with the Democratic Unionist Party would only apply to \u201cbig issues\u201d like the economy and security, the defence secretary has said. Sir Michael Fallon said the parties were seeking an agreement \u2013 which would not be a formal coalition \u2013 to keep a minority Tory government in power. Speaking to Andrew Marr, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-395182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n
General election 2017: Fallon defends DUP government \u2018deal\u2019 - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/06\/11\/general-election-2017-fallon-defends-dup-government-deal\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"General election 2017: Fallon defends DUP government \u2018deal\u2019 - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"A Conservative deal with the Democratic Unionist Party would only apply to \u201cbig issues\u201d like the economy and security, the defence secretary has said. Sir Michael Fallon said the parties were seeking an agreement \u2013 which would not be a formal coalition \u2013 to keep a minority Tory government in power. 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