British Prime Minister Theresa May will form a government with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Northern Irish party whose socially conservative views on gay rights and religion have come under fresh scrutiny.
Confirming her party will attend talks on Monday, Sinn Féin's Northern leader Michelle O'Neill said the DUP-Conservative relationship meant nationalists would turn away from the British government and instead look to the Republic of Ireland for impartial support in peace talks.
DUP leader Arlene Foster confirmed that she had spoken to May and that they would speak further to "explore how it may be possible to bring stability to this nation at this time of great challenge", the BBC reported.
The DUP are the biggest Unionist party in Northern Ireland.
While Mrs May said her top ministers would remain in post, she hinted her two close aides, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill - blamed by many Tory MPs for the party's disastrous campaign - could face the chop.
Many members of the party are also in favor of capital punishment. As votes were still being counted, she began talks with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party and went to see the Queen.
However, Mrs May insisted that, as the leader of the largest party in the new parliament, she had a duty to act in the "national interest". "What's happened is, people have said they've had quite enough of austerity politics, they've had quite enough of cuts in public expenditure, under-funding our health service, under-funding our schools, our education service, and not giving our young people the chance they deserve in our society". And their 42.4 percent of the popular vote was actually the highest percentage the party has won in 30 years (they won an identical percentage in their last Thatcher-led campaign in 1987).
Sharma, Dhawan star in commanding win over Pakistan
India: 319 for 3 in 48 overs ( Rohit Sharma 91, Virat Kohli 81 not out, Yuvraj Singh 53, Shikhar Dhawan 68; Shadab Khan 1/52). Pakistan were set a revised target of 289 in 41 overs to beat title-holders India after frequent rain interruptions.
Yesterday the people of the United Kingdom produced an election result that has shaken the UK's political establishment to the core.
Mrs May's Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn, once written off by his opponents as a no-hoper, said the Prime Minister should step down.
"Other personnel issues are for other days", she said.
The deal will likely be one of "confidence and supply", meaning the DUP will not veto supply bills nor back no-confidence motions, rather than a formal coalition of the sort represented by the long-standing Liberal-National coalition in Australia. It is thanks to DUP opposition that Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom where same-sex marriage is not legal, after the party exercised a veto.
"We are moving forward at a snail's pace and this is embarrassingly slow", Sam Smethers, chief executive of women's rights organisation the Fawcett Society, said in a statement.
"The link will enrage other parties in Northern Ireland, and the DUP will exact a high price for their support, which may not be visible, but will be there".
Owen Paterson opened the door on debating the 24 week time limit which is now in place after the Conservatives entered an agreement to govern with the right-wing Northern Irish party the DUP.
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