Conservative–DUP agreement
|
Conservative–DUP agreement
|
|
|---|---|
| Leader |
Theresa May Arlene Foster |
| Founded | 26 June 2017 |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| House of Commons |
326 / 650
|
| House of Lords |
253 / 798
|
The Conservative–DUP agreement, officially the Agreement between the Conservative and Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party on Support for the Government in Parliament, was agreed between the Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) following the 2017 United Kingdom general election, which had resulted in a hung parliament. Negotiations between the two parties began on 9 June, the day after the election, and the final agreement was signed and published on 26 June 2017. The agreement, signed by the two parties' chief whips, Gavin Williamson for the Conservatives and Jeffrey Donaldson for the DUP, secures DUP confidence-and-supply support for a Conservative minority government led by Theresa May.
Previously the Conservatives cooperated with the DUP's main unionist rival, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), whose MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster until that arrangement was ended in 1974. Relations between the Conservatives and UUP worsened following the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, although the two parties continued to work together, especially after the 1992 election when John Major's government had to rely on their support. In January 2010, the then Conservative leader David Cameron held talks with both the UUP and DUP about an electoral pact for the 2010 general election. The Conservatives had already formed an electoral alliance with the UUP (see Ulster Conservatives and Unionists) in 2009, but had previously rejected DUP calls for agreed unionist candidates in selected Northern Ireland seats. The prospect of a unionist pact caused disquiet on the part of some members of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, and ultimately a pact with the DUP was rejected. The Ulster Conservatives and Unionists electoral pact ended after the party failed to win any Northern Ireland seats in the 2010 general election. As at June 2017, the UUP currently have no Members of Parliament.
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