Theresa May cannot recommend Brexit deal says DUP

The DUP leader has said Theresa May cannot in good conscience recommend a Brexit deal that places a trade barrier on businesses moving goods from one part of the UK to another, BBC reported.

Arlene Foster was speaking at the end of a three-day trip to Brussels.

Mrs Foster said she again spelled out her opposition to the EU's proposal to keep Northern Ireland subject to its trade regulations after Brexit.

She did not play down the rift between her party and the government.

The DUP has said it could vote down the Budget later this month.

Mrs May relies on DUP support in key votes because she does not have a majority in the House of Commons.

Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Mrs Foster said "these are significant days for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom as we know it".

She said the EU plan for checks on goods was "a one-way turnstile, which could restrict trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland".

Far from being the best of both worlds, the EU plan "is the worst of one world", Mrs Foster said.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has said she is not expecting a breakthrough at next week's EU summit.

She said talks between Britain and the EU on the crucial question of how to avoid a hard border are likely to continue until November.

Asked if she is concerned about the DUP's threats to withdraw their support, Mrs May responded only by noting that "the DUP will do what the DUP will do".

British Prime Minister Theresa May and Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) visit Belleek Pottery, on July 19, 2018 in St Belleek, Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.Clodagh Kilcoyne - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Earlier, East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson said the DUP has threatened to take serious action if it remains unhappy over the government's Brexit plans.

He added that the party's abstention on the agriculture bill on Wednesday night was a warning to the government.

Conservative MP Helen Grant said she believed the DUP was "bluffing" about withholding its support.

Mr Wilson said the party was unhappy with what it had been hearing about the Brexit negotiations.

Writing in Thursday's Daily Telegraph, he said "briefings and leaks" suggested the UK might consider arrangements that could exclude Northern Ireland from the UK's trade deals or lead to checks on goods arriving from Great Britain.

Speaking about the agriculture bill vote, Mr Wilson told BBC News: "It was a way of reminding the government that while our vote wasn't important last night, it would be important some time in the future, and we would have no hesitation withholding it if we thought that was a necessary sanction to impose.

Michel Barnier. Getty

"It was a warning: 'Don't take us for granted, we're in an agreement with you, but it's a two-sided agreement.

"'You keep your side, we'll keep our side, you break your promises and we then don't feel committed to keeping our side of the bargain.'"

Culled from BBC

My view: This is why it is good for the government to have its own majority instead of relying on a small party, as they can stop supporting the government if they don't get what they want.