U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May gets go-ahead to form a government
Prime minister says after meeting with Queen this morning she could rely on support of DUP
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said Friday she would form a new government with assistance from Northern Irish unionists to provide certainty and lead Britain in talks with the European Union to secure a successful Brexit deal.
May met briefly with the Queen early Friday at Buckingham Palace to ask for permission to form government after an election debacle that saw her Conservative Party lose its parliamentary majority days before talks on Britain's EU departure are due to begin. She added she will stick to the timetable for Britain to leave the EU.
On the doorstep of her official Downing Street residence, May said she could rely in Parliament on the support of her "friends" in Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party after her governing Conservatives failed to win a majority.
"We will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular," she said. "Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."
The DUP — which staunchly defends Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom, and takes a conservative approach to social issues — increased its number of seats to 10 in Thursday's election.