Numerous party members are also uncomfortable with the kind of deal that will have to be struck with the DUP, a socially conservative party that takes an opposing stance on issues such as abortion and same sex marriages.
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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, riding a wave of acclaim for his party’s unexpectedly strong showing, called on May to resign.
“There’s a possibility of voting the Queen’s Speech down and we’re going to push that all the way”. “The influence of Irish MPs concerned about ensuring a frictionless border is likely to create a contingency for a more pragmatic approach to Brexit”.
Meanwhile, Labour, which had been written off by critics as all but unelectable, surged to 261 seats, up 29 from its tally in the 2015 election.
“What the country needs more than ever is certainty”, the Conservative leader said after the shock outcome of Thursday’s vote.
British Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to relinquish her two closest aides on Saturday as she struggled to reassert her authority following a crushing electoral setback.
Amid a febrile atmosphere among Tory MPs, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is reported to be preparing a new bid to become Prime Minister as Mrs May’s grip on No.10 becomes increasingly fragile.
But Osborne, who is now the editor of London’s Evening Standard newspaper, downplayed the prospect.
May wanted to win explicit backing for her stance on Brexit, which involves leaving the EU’s single market and imposing restrictions on immigration while trying to negotiate free trade deal with the bloc. The DUP, although it wants to leave the European Union, will insist on keeping the single market that allows the free flow of goods across the UK’s border with Ireland.
Mr Crowther said: “Though she is personally damaged as our negotiator, the suggestion that Mrs May’s dismal electoral performance relieves the Government of the need to achieve full Brexit is absolutely unacceptable”.
But a dismal campaign has left the Prime Minister fending off a mutiny in her own party.
She said the Conservatives’ planned deal with the DUP was “dodgy” and “unsustainable” – and Theresa May’s position was “not remotely tenable” because she lacked the skills to hold together a minority government, which has to be more open and collegiate.
“The prime minister has tonight spoken with the DUP to discuss finalising a confidence and supply deal when Parliament returns next week”, a Downing Street spokeswoman said, referring to a deal whereby the DUP would support the government but not enter a formal coalition.
Pressure is now also coming from the public. The DUP is the most “Jacksonian” (that is to say rightwing, nationalist-populist) political force in the United Kingdom, and many of Ulster’s Protestants are as sympathetic to Israel as their USA cousins.
However he acknowledged that the party would have to abandon much of the programme set out in the general election manifesto as it would no longer be able to get it through Parliament.
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The DUP itself later issued a statement saying the talks had been positive, but stopped short of confirming a deal had been sealed. Given the election arithmetic, Labour would struggle to get the numbers to form a coalition government.
