The Conservatives and the DUP have been negotiating for 11 days, apparently without promising results.
In the worst-case scenario, he warned, the Tory-DUP partnership might reignite religious tension in Northern Ireland, which has already subsided since the Belfast Peace Agreement, more commonly known as the "Good Friday Agreement" (GFA), was concluded nearly 20 years ago.
Leo Varadkar, who took office as Ireland's Taoiseach last week, came to London today for talks with UK Prime Minister Theresa May about Northern Ireland.
Varadkar said he would emphasize to May the British and Irish governments must remain impartial in Northern Ireland, as stipulated by the Good Friday Agreement.
DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds also said the United Kingdom must deliver Brexit, telling the British House of Commons people voted to leave the European single market and customs union at the 2016 EU referendum.
Discussions created to guarantee DUP support for Theresa May's government have been going on for 10 days.
The failure to bridge differences casts doubt on Mrs May's ability to get her Queen's Speech through Parliament, with senior minister Damian Green acknowledging it is possible that no agreement will be reached in time for the crunch Commons vote on the package on June 29.
Talks between the DUP and the government "haven't proceeded in a way that DUP would have expected", sources have told Sky News.
Queen's Speech to reportedly focus on Brexit
It centered around securing Brexit and bringing in replacement laws needed for European Union exit. While the Queen reads the speech to lawmakers, it is written by the prime minister and her staff.
The new Republic of Ireland Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, has admitted he is attempting to pressure the DUP into legalising same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
"Theresa May has no mandate for the direction she is taking the country".
In any case, all parties today want to avoid a "hard" Brexit that reimposes a strong border and endangers trade links, which would likely cause both economic hardship and political agitation.
The DUP's £2bn demand for health and infrastructure emerged in briefings to the BBC in Northern Ireland, which said the party was also seeking cuts to corporation tax.
A spokesperson for Number 10 has said talks are continuing. But in and of themselves, they are probably not sufficient to argue against a confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP.
Veteran lawmaker Dennis Skinner offered the traditional heckle ahead of the speech, joking that those involved in the ceremony had better hurry so the queen could make the first race.
However, Conservative sources take a different approach and insist that the talks are progressing as planned and a deal is in sight.
While it's deeply unlikely that the DUP will vote against the Queen's Speech - their antipathy to Jeremy Corbyn is too great for that - the government will struggle to ensure their support for its legislation, meaning that we could be looking at an fallow legislative period.
Comments