To think a Tory coalition with the DUP is a potentially terrifying prospect?

[AFierceBadRabbit]

Not to mention the irony regarding so many ridiculous claims about corbyn sympathizing with terrorists. (The DUP are chock full of em!)

Who are the DUP, you may ask?

Here you go www.opendemocracy.net/uk/adam-ramsay/so-who-are-dup

At least abortion is an issue on which there is a free vote, so it doesn't broadly matter how many DUP / Tory / Labour / etc MPs there are

Very few people voted for the DUP.

Why are they running the country now?

Declaration of no confidence in the conservative DUP union

www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-no-confidence-in-a-conservative-and-dup-colaition?utm_medium=email&utm_source=notification&utm_campaign=petition_signer_receipt

Here's a thumbnail sketch of each of the DUP MPs. www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40220397

People are saying, the DUP will just have a handful of MPs, it isn't a problem, they can't DO anything harmful.

But how many MPs did UKIP have? They certainly had an influence.

Here is a very useful paper from the Consitution Unit which outlines the challenges May will have in parliament. The opposition can make it extremely difficult for her to achieve anything and the idea that the DUP will determine the government's agenda is simply fantasy.

The opposition can make it extremely difficult for her to achieve anything and the idea that the DUP will determine the government's agenda is simply fantasy

That's true. The DUP are awful but the idea they are going to determine major policy is nonsense. It will be a game of poker. Whoever is PM has the trump card of "do you want to bring this government down?"

But Lass, they might not give a rats if the WM government goes down, whereas TM would. It is the DUP using that tactic in her which worries me.

Why would they want to bring May's government down? They've already said they are appalled by the prospect of a Corbyn-led Labour govt, the most likely alternative.

It's not a big issue, this DUP point and if you don't like DUP policies then you need to get across to NI and change hearts and minds as both Catholics and Protestants over there are very anti abortion and most of these other things. thankfully we live in a UK where people are allowed to hold different views and we tolerate and respect them all, I hope.

Mary, probably not your intention,but please don't lump us all in with the braying idiots who are anti this and anti that. Quite a lot of people here, younger generations in particular, actually inhabit the 21st century. It's our politicians that don't.

Also want to point out it is solely the DUP blocking equal marriage by misusing the petition of concern. Sinn Fein, Greens & SDLP in favour, UUP and Alliance allow a free vote, afaik. Most recent vote was in favour and DUP blocked it.

Mary much of the population here in N Ireland is pro-choice - both Catholic and Protestant.

However people do not vote on this- many people vote only on the constitutional question- stick with the Union or united Ireland. This leads to very polarised results and a stranglehold by evangelicals like the DUP and the Catholic Church despite the fact that the ordinary people are becoming more and more secular just like the rest of Europe.

www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/northern-ireland-nearly-34-public-support-abortion-law-change-new-poll-0

Amnesty international Survey. The majority of the population want a change- Protestant slightly more so.

Sinn Féin Ard Fheis: Party votes to allow limited abortion - www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-31774791

Sinn Fein slightly less opposed than DUP- although I understand not all Sinn Fein members are happy with this stance.

So basically both parties out of kilter with public opinion.

YNBU. I think this outcome might actually be the worst result bar UKIP being the leading party

To be fair,Theresa May did warn about a coalition of chaos ,shored up by extremist ,terrorist sympathisers. She just forgot to mention she'd be leading it.

I think it will be interesting to see what people think when they start learning a bit more about the DUP. There may be all sorts of unexpected outcomes. They are not going to support May for 'free', I wonder what their price will be. Probably not going to help with the NI situation - are the DUP even going to pretend to want to get Stormont up and running where they have to cooperate with Sinn Fein when they have just achieved the whip hand over the Westminster government.

Hmmm

The date on the poster says vote on Thursday 6th May - not from this election then?

It's a historical reference to the UUP being in bed with the tories.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Trimble
Now a conservative life peer.

David Trimble was an Ulster Unionist not DUP - I think alot of people are confusing the two parties... The DUP have always voted with conservatives traditionally so I think the hysteria needs reigning in a little. The biggest issue is for us folks in northern Ireland the UK government is no longer an honest broker in terms of neutrality (it hasn't been for a while...Mrs May and the NI secretary of state have been stoking tension the whole way through this election with some of their IRA sympathisers comments). It's a matter of time before direct rule returns - the Tories are in the pocket of the Dup so getting the devolved assembly up and running now is probably highly unlikely. While this has the potential to have a damaging effect on the peace process can everyone who makes references to violence returning calm it down....it is quite offensive to people from Northern Ireland to suggest we are some type of barbarian board just waiting for an excuse to kick off!!

@Passwordfatigue, the Trimble reference was to the old election poster. The UUP did work with John Major's Conservatives, that is what the election poster upthread is referring to. David Trimble, who was a UUP first minster of NI is now a CONSERVATIVE life peer.
Make of that what you will (though he did leave the UUP after he was made a life peer).

Mind you, Trimble's activities in the Vanguard Unionist party are pretty disgusting. Yet the Tories allow him to sit on their benches in the house of Lords. Funny how that never gets mentioned when the Tories are trotting out their 'Corbyn loves the IRA' nonsense. Also why are the Tories basing their attack lines on a conflict that has been (sort of) over for 20 years, plus rehashing debates about Nuclear weapons that belong in the cold war era. Neither are pressing issues for modern voters on the mainland.

So both hypocritical and hopeless.