11/06/2017 Sunday Politics Northern Ireland

But stay with us for more drama as we can now go straight

to the Sunday Politics with Andrew Neil who's

We are indeed in the sunshine. Welcome from the heart of

Westminster. Theresa May reappointing key figures

to the Cabinet, sacking had to closest aides, Nick Timothy and

Fiona Hill. After Conservative MPs demanded their removal in the

Conservative failure to win an overall majority in the House of

Commons. Over the next hour and a bit we'll continue to take stock on

the remarkable events of the last 72 hours and try to work out where we

go from here. First though, here's Adam Fleming

with a reminder of the high octane I was going to say this

chair is quite warm. Michael Fallon's bum

was on this chair. Bums on seats, its election

night at the BBC, hosted This is David Dimbleby's

actual seat! Look, he's got four pencils,

stopwatch and a calculator. And what we are saying

is the Conservatives Note, they don't have an overall

majority at this stage. 314 for the Conservatives,

that's down 17. Luckily there were plenty

of politicians who never are. What does this exit

poll actually mean? Well, if it's accurate it means

Theresa May has just presided over the greatest catastrophe that I can

think of in the Conservative We haven't seen a seat change hands

and we are hearing about possible Conservative gains in the Midlands

and losses in London, People will write Ph.D.s about the

2017 election Labour candidates were winning

in unexpected places. Tories were losing in unexpected

places, including eight members of the Government,

like Treasury minister The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd,

held on in Hastings...just. OK, the former Deputy Prime Minister

and former leader of the Liberal Democrats,

Nick Clegg, has been beaten I've always sought to stand

by the liberal values I believe in, but I, of course, have encountered

this evening something many people have encountered before tonight,

and I suspect many people will encounter after tonight,

which is - in politics you live by the sword, and you

die by the sword. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron

was narrowly re-elected in Cumbria, unlike the SNP's Westminster

leader Angus Robertson, who lost his seat, former First

Minister Alex Salmond defeated too. The Scottish National Party have

lost many fine parliamentarians this evening, and that is a grievous blow

to the SNP. But overall the results in Scotland

show the SNP will have won a majority of the seats in this

country and a majority of the vote. Paul Nuttall failed to get

elected in Skegness So, the green room looking a bit

ruined, a bit like Ukip I think we are doing

better than the SNP. We deliberately didn't stand in some

seats to try to give Brexit I think it's quite interesting

the main leading Brexit candidates in this election

are getting their seat back. Right, it's dawn in the real world

and I found a pub that has been open What state are they going

to be in, in there? And was it young people

who had seen Corbyn, voted, and got the T-shirt who helped

the Labour leader to Right, five past five

in the morning, we are outside Jeremy Corbyn's house in Islington

in north London. Surprisingly small press pack

for the man who's destroyed Jeremy!

Jeremy! If there is a message from

tonight's result, it's this - the Prime Minister called

the election because Well, the mandate she's got is lost

Conservative seats, lost votes, I would have thought that's enough

to go actually and make way for a government that will be truly

representative of all Theresa May did the opposite,

popping to the palace, What the country needs more

than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest

number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the general

election, it is clear that only the Conservatives and Unionist Party

have the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty

by commanding a majority As we do, we will continue to work

with our friends and allies, in the Democratic Unionist Party

in particular. 15 hours after election night

started, it's all over. And joined by Tom Newton Dunn, Julia

Hartley-Brewer and Steve Richards. Julia, why did it go so wrong for

the Conservatives? You can't run a presidential campaign if you have a

candidate with less than the charisma of this desk. If you're not

going to put her out to debate, if she's not coming to the people and

selling herself, which she studiously didn't do, you can't run

that campaign. There was the possibility another leader could

have walked that with 800 majority against Jeremy Corbyn. Another

campaign, we will never know, could have delivered a majority of 30 or

40, without the deal with the DUP. I'm not saying it was fundamentally

wrong to call the election at this time, but it was the wrong candidate

and the wrong campaign. The third election in a row that Labour has

failed to win. It was still a substantial and historic achievement

for Jeremy Corbyn. If you consider the context in which this election

was called, Theresa May, on her honeymoon to die for, politically,

with Labour voters split over Brexit, suddenly calling an election

when most Labour MPs were not willing to cooperate with whatever

campaign was being held by Labour, for them to do as well as they have

done is an extraordinary achievement. They got no more seats

than Gordon Brown in 2010, roughly the same. But the context couldn't

have been more daunting, and to wipe out a majority of this figure, who

six weeks ago was walking on water and appeared to have Brexit as part

of her ammunition against the split Labour vote, remains astonishing.

One of the errors she made and so many others she made and probably

all of us, was to underestimate the potency of Corbyn and the relatively

modest social Democrat manifesto. Doesn't it take stupidity bordering

on genius to turn a 20 point lead at the start of the campaign into a

hung parliament? It does and it did. That's what happened. I think the

lead was soft, largely because Theresa May was unknown. We know her

because we have been having lunch and interviews with her for years on

end. The public didn't know her. They got to know her and they

discovered she was the Maybot, which is the term that will stick after

this campaign. I differ from my two colleagues here, it wasn't the

amazing right of Corbyn, it was a complete failure to remember that

people wanted a revolution when they voted for Brexit, and she came

across as the party and candidate of continuity. As things stand, we are

where we are. Where are we?! Where do we go from here? I was with

College Green with you in the early hours of Friday morning and I didn't

see anybody that said, see you back here in October. A second election?

God forbid, nobody wants a second election, but I can't see the Tories

being able to stay in power with the DUP and I'm personally very unhappy

with a lot of DUP policies, their stance on gay rights, capital

punishment, abortion rights, and there will be an awful lot of

people, floating voters, who will recoil in horror at that, even on

unofficial lines. I get the sense Jeremy Corbyn will be up for a

second election, as quick as it comes. I'm sure he is, and if there

was one company might well win it, which is why there won't be. All

logic points to another election but I don't think there will be one,

because I don't think any Conservative Prime Minister will

feel strong and confident enough after the trauma of this. They would

have to be 50 points ahead in the polls to take the risk. I think

rather like between 74 and 79 we will have a frail and fragile House

of Commons with a minority government for quite a long time,

simply because whoever is Prime Minister will not have the

confidence to call an election. So the Tories fear of a quick second

election could well result in them going more leniently on Mrs May than

they really want to. We have seen already, Miss Mrs May is still Prime

Minister. That wouldn't have happened by now if they thought they

could win a second snap election. I think they will stabilise. They are

also desperate to get Brexit negotiations underway. That's

another reason she is still there. She is the one who needs to pull the

trigger. Most of the Tory party are aching to have the trigger pulled.

When that is bold, when I have stabilised, and when Jeremy Corbyn

is back the House of Commons, where remember he's not very good, I think

they might your right. Lots more to talk about. Thank you for being with

me in the open air, the Westminster penthouse, open to the world. I just

need to find the cocktail bar. Although it is early.

So, let's take a look at the election results

Here's how the parties fared in the election on Thursday.

And here's how they got on in the previous general

As you can see, the Labour vote is up dramatically, by ten points.

But the Conservative vote also rose quite significantly, by five points.

The SNP and the Liberal Democrats both saw declines in their support.

And Ukip's vote has almost completely collapsed,

from 13% in 2015 to just 2% this time around.

So the resurgence of two-party politics is one of the key

The combined vote share of the two main parties is now 82%,

the highest it's been since the election in 1970.

And it's more if you exclude Northern Ireland.

That's partly explained by the collapse of Ukip.

According to one estimate, the Conservatives may have got 57%

It's also thought that last year's EU referendum has helped to polarise

support along the traditional Labour and Conservative lines.

In polls carried out before the election,

it was estimated that 50% of remain voters supported Labour and nearly

two-thirds of leave voters supported the Conservatives.

There's also speculation that a rise in the number of young voters may be

behind the boost in Labour's support - but we don't yet have

But it's notable that Labour did well in certain constituencies

For example, it's thought that the large number of students

in Canterbury helped Labour win the seat for the first time

ever, with a 9% swing from the Conservatives.

The two main parties have also seen changes in their number of seats.

Labour lost six seats but gained 36, giving them a net gain of 30 seats.

Most of those Labour gains were in England,

where the party took 27 seats, mainly from the Conservatives.

They also gained three seats in Wales and six

As for the Conservatives, they lost a total of 33

seats but also gained 20, giving them a net loss of 13 seats.

Most of those 20 Conservative gains came in Scotland,

where the party took 12 seats from the SNP.

Meaning the Scottish Tories are allowing Mrs May to try to form a

government this week! Who would have thought!

In England, the Conservatives won

Joining me now from Glasgow is the brains behind Thursday

night's astoundingly accurate exit poll, the polling expert

And John, the Tories saw a 5-point rise in the share of the votes to

42%, very high by recent historical standards, but still lost over a

dozen seats, why? Under our first past the post electoral system, the

share of the vote you get is almost irrelevant. What is crucial is how

you do relative to your opponents. In particular so far as Conservative

and Labour are concerned, what determines the fate is the gap

between them. In the 2015 election, the Conservatives had a 7-point

lead, that only got them a majority of 12, and somebody should have said

to the Prime Minister before she pulled the trigger, you do realise

you have to be a long way ahead of the Labour Party in order to

increase your majority. The opinion polls say you are at that point now

but if they fall you are in trouble. In the end of the Conservative lead

is 2.5 points, which is not enough to secure a majority given that

Northern Ireland is out of the frame, Scotland still has a majority

of third party MPs, and there are still Liberal Democrats and greens.

This now looks like a two party race once again. We have still got much

more in the House of Commons than in 1970 which makes a hung parliament

much more likely. Meanwhile there weren't that many marginal seats. It

is the relative standing of the parties that's crucial. And how do

we explain the 10% rise in Labour's share of the vote? There's a lot of

anecdotal evidence of a youth Surge, and I'd like to know if we can nail

that down, but also the work of the swings too. Some green voters moved

into Labour, some Liberal Democrats, even perhaps some Ukip voters moved

into Labour, what do we know? I think we can pick up three crucial

patterns. The first is a lot of people who at the beginning of the

campaign said are usually vote Labour but cannot imagine doing so

under Jeremy Corbyn, he so hopeless. Because of his relatively strong

performance they came back into the fold so by the time we got to

polling day there was many 2015 voters who said they would vote

Labour again. That was the crucial point, getting the faithful back on

board. It is certainly clear there was a substantial swing to young

voters during the campaign. Labour started off well in that group, the

opinion polls had it around 65% by the time the election came. We don't

know exactly the turnout amongst young people, but certainly the

pattern of the results suggests the turnout was going up more in places

where there were young people so probably somewhat more of them did

turn out to vote. The third crucial patent is that this was an election

which to some degree voters did polarise around the issue of the

shape of Brexit, weather you are a Remain or Leave voter. Labour's

progress during the campaign was disproportionately amongst Remain

voters so although the parties were not thought to be that far apart on

the shape of Brexit, they seem to be sufficiently far apart that Labour

was more attractive for those less keen on the kind of Brexit Theresa

May had in mind. John Curtice, thank you as always. We are now going to

Salford. Graham Brady, you think Mrs May should soldier on, why? There's

no other party in a position to form a government. Clearly these aren't

the circumstances that either the Prime Minister nor I nor my

colleagues would want to be dealing with at the moment but this is what

we are presented with and it's our duty to make the best of it and try

to offer government as resilient as it can be an quite difficult times.

But is she ever going to be more than a caretaker leader now? I think

one of the odd things about the experience of the last 12 months is

Theresa May performed well as Prime Minister and the public rather liked

her as Prime Minister. I think few people would say the campaign

succeeded in projecting her qualities as strongly as it could

and should have done. As we return to government, albeit in difficult

circumstances and dependent on support from other parties, I think

we will see people once again seeing the steady, calm, thoughtful Theresa

May as Prime Minister. Do you fear a leadership election might lead to a

second general election, and that prospect terrifies you, doesn't it?

I'm not sitting here terrified, but I think there is zero appetite

amongst the public for another general election at the moment, and

I don't detect any great appetite amongst my colleagues for presenting

the public with a massive additional dose of uncertainty by getting

involved in a rather self-indulgent Conservative Party internal election

campaign. That's because they are frightened they might lose, that's

why they don't want another one. I think most of us are motivated by a

belief in the national interest and we are responsible people who want

to try to offer that responsible, steady government, especially at

this point as we know it's just a matter of days until those important

negotiations on leaving the European Union begins. It's a time when we

need experience and responsible people in Government, and I think

it's our duty to try to offer that. Many Tories have said to me that Mrs

May must never be allowed to leave your party into another general

election, do you agree with that? No, these are judgments that will be

made in the fullness of time by the Prime Minister and by colleagues, as

is always the case with any Prime Minister and leader of the party,

but at the moment we are resolutely focused on trying to make sure the

country can have the responsible study government that it really

needs at this point, and that should be our focus too. In what way should

Mrs May change? I think there are all sorts of lessons we can pick up

from the campaign and the reaction to it, even from the thing that

surprised most of us, the way in which Jeremy Corbyn, in spite of all

of his manifest failings, in particular his extreme political

views, was able to present himself in a rather avuncular way. I didn't

ask about Mr Corbyn. I'm saying I think there are some lessons there,

in terms of relaxing little bit into communicating with the electorate.

It is something she does very well in person, increasingly so since she

became Prime Minister. That's not the experience of the campaign, the

more people saw her the more they didn't like the colour of her gym.

It didn't communicating the campaign, but also I think we need

to see a much more open and inclusive approach within

government, within Parliament as well. That's not just a kind of

desirable outcome, which I think always would have been desirable and

I've had this conversation with previous prime ministers as well.

It's a necessity in the circumstances, trying to make a hung

parliament and minority government work really requires a much more

inclusive approach. You are being brought into the decision taking

process on the deal being done with the DUP? I have said to the Prime

Minister I think it is important she speaks to colleagues as soon as

possible. I'm hoping to bring it forward to tomorrow so she can

talk... But are you being involved in this more inclusive process? I am

not on a negotiating team but I saw the Prime Minister very early after

the election had taken place, I went to London on Friday afternoon and

met with her and we had a discussion about all sorts of things that need

to be addressed over the coming days and weeks. When Mrs May spoke in

Downing Street after she'd gone to see the Queen, it was another

robotic performance. It didn't even express any regrets for the Tories

that had lost. You had to into being to get her to make a second

statement, didn't you? No, she was already going to give the interview

she gave. You urged her to do so. She was already scheduled to give

the interview. I happen to see her in between the statement and

interview, and I was keen to press home that in the past Conservative

Party that has been very poor in its communications with colleagues who

have lost their seats in the general election, that is something none of

my colleagues likes to see so I certainly did say that I think it's

important we do better this time. What bits of the manifesto will you

now have to jumk for the Queen 's speech? That will be an interesting

process to witness. I don't think it will just be the Queen 's speech, it

will be the whole experience of government. There's no point in

sailing ahead with items that were in the manifesto which we won't get

through Parliament so I think we will have to work very carefully. No

doubt we will slim down the Queen's speech. So tell me, which bits will

you have to junk? Back to the triple lock on pensioners and no grammar

schools? How about that? I would be upset if we couldn't make any

progress on allowing people to have a choice of grammar schools if they

wanted. Are you hoping they will drop it? If we cannot get things

through Parliament, we cannot do them so I certainly would suggest

that we can look for instance at a rather modest sort of pilots,

opening some state grammar schools in inner urban areas, especially

where education at the moment is not offering great opportunities to

people of lower income backgrounds. I think that is something that could

command quite broad support. I have heard from friends on the Labour

ventures quietly that they would like that approach to be taken. We

will certainly have to trim our policies carefully according to what

we think Parliament will support. Graham Brady in Salford, thank you.

Let's go to Nottingham where I am joined by Anna Soubry. In the early

hours of Thursday morning you called on Theresa May to consider her

position. Is that still your view? Yes, she obviously has considered

her position and she is set to go in due course, but I very much agree

with Graham, we don't want her to go now. We want a period of stability

and she has got to reach out and form a consensus and she has got to

form a consensus in particular on Brexit. She has now got to make sure

she understands that the British people have rejected a hard Brexit.

We are leaving the EU, I don't think there's any change there but we are

not going to be leaving the EU in some irresponsible weights that will

damage future generations in our country and there's a big lesson to

be learned as you've already identified in your programme, about

younger people and the message they have sent out in this election. I

will come onto Brexit in the moment, but you have said she is set to go

in due course, what does that mean? I don't know. After the summer,

before the end of the year? I would have thought so. She is flawed,

she's in a desperate situation. Her position is untenable and I think

she knows that and she is doing the right thing, which is she's got rid

of these special advisers, she's brought in Gavin Barwell, and she's

listening to people from all parts of not just the party but the

country. She has got to reach out more and broaden the base within her

Cabinet, and she's got to include people from all parts of my party as

well as all points of view across Parliament. So what impact in your

view will, as you describe it, Mrs May's much more weakened position,

what impact will that have on her current Brexit stance? Will she have

to change it and water it down? Yes, absolutely. The country did not vote

for a hard Brexit. This is based on my experience of having knocked on

the literally thousands of dollars, actually since February. I have

listened to a lot of people, and the idea of a hard Brexit, people didn't

like that. It's one of the reasons we haven't won this election. They

accept we are leaving, I accept it, but we want to get the best deal and

she must not turn her back on British business as I'm afraid she

has. She's got to listen to British business and Philip Hammond, she's

got to listen to Greg Clark. Wise owls who know what British business

once and they want that single market and they also wanted proper

immigration policy that recognises we need immigrants and free movement

in order for British business to continue to flourish.

She has to at least listen to these things, and she hasn't in the past.

Is that what Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, about

the only Conservative to emerge with credit on Thursday, is that what she

means? We should remain members of the single market, remain in the

customs union and put the economy before immigration. Is that what you

are talking about? Absolutely. And I always have. And in my literature I

made it very clear I would continue to make the case for the single

market and positive benefits of immigration. Although my majority

was reduced, I put on 1800 more votes. It's not about me, obviously,

it's about me being a Conservative, but I made my position clear and I

have not faulted on that. Turning our back on the customs union in

particular is the stuff of madness. The single market sees off the

Nationalists and their desire for a second referendum, although the

mighty Ruth Davidson is already done that with her remarkable result in

Scotland, but it would also solve the problem with Ireland. Don't you

risk reopening all those Tory divisions over Europe on this? I

haven't. You have held these views for a long time. There are 20 of

other, probably more Tories, who want what you call a hard Brexit. --

plenty of other. It's what the people want. But you don't have a

majority. At this election the people have spoken and they have

rejected the hard Brexit. I think we can all agree on that. That doesn't

mean to say we are not leaving the EU, we will leave the EU, and I

believe even people who voted to remain accept we are leaving. I

found very few angry Remainers on the doorsteps. People accept the

result, but they do not want a hard Brexit. That's the message coming

out from this and I hope Theresa May gets that. If she does, then she has

to build the con census. There's nothing to stop her working with

sensible people in the Labour Party, who also accept the referendum

result, no we will be leaving the EU, and know we have to get the best

deal, and we can't close our minds on the single market and Customs

union. What are the bits of the Tory manifesto you will now have to drop

to keep your new bedfellows happy in the DUP? I don't think we have

reached a deal yet with the DUP. But that is the aim. Apparently it's the

aim. I will tell you now, Andrew, you probably know far more than I

do. I get on well with a number of members of the DUP. I don't like a

lot of their policies on abortion, gay and lesbian issues, I completely

disagree with them, but if we can put those issues aside and put the

focus on making a stable government and putting the national interest

first, we might well make strides forward. Many people have been

talking about public services and public sector pay, but we have to do

recognise that at the same time we are going into choppy economic

waters, and that's why I think it's so important Theresa May listens to

Philip Hammond and puts him much more at the core and front of this

government. It's the economy that matters more than anything else.

That's one of the spectacular failings of the campaign. The issue

that was hardly mentioned during the campaign. Never mentioned it. Anna

Soubry, we will leave it there. After Theresa May had been to see

the Queen at Buckingham Palace on Friday she made a brief statement on

Friday. We can remind ourselves what she said.

We will continue to work with our friends and allies,

in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular.

Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many

years, and this gives me the confidence to believe

that we will be able to work together in the interests

This will allow us to come together as a country

and channel our energies towards a successful

Brexit deal that works for everyone in this country.

Securing a new partnership with the EU that guarantees our

That's what people voted for last June, that's what we will deliver.

I've been joined by the Conservative MP Dominic Raab -

a former government minister who's been tipped for a return in Theresa

We shall see. Welcome to the programme. Her two most senior

advisers have fallen on their swords. Most of the Cabinet has gone

to ground since the result. Could Theresa May be any more isolated? I

don't think that's true. You have three Cabinet ministers doing

television this morning. We are in the middle of a reshuffle, so you

wouldn't expect them all to be out on the airwaves, and we also in the

business of hammering out the detail on the supply and confidence

arrangement with the DUP. Where are we on that? On the question of Chief

of staff, a new appointment has been made, Gavin Barwell, I know him

well, a smart policy guide and also very sensitive on the political

radar and that shows we are moving forward. It was forced on her. I

think they did the honourable thing. The two aids that fell on their

sword? Yes. The key point is, looking forward, which we have to

do, we had the outcome of the election and the people have spoken

and we have to make the best of it. Gavin Barwell is an important

appointment. Conservative MPs across-the-board know, respect and

trust him. Nobody in the country has heard of him, but maybe that doesn't

matter. How many had heard of Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill before they

were appointed? They do now. Do you agree with Anna Soubry that Theresa

May is no more than a caretaker Prime Minister now? I don't.

Emotions are way up. But we still won the most votes and most seats.

My reading from talking to MPs across-the-board is the overwhelming

majority want to see Theresa May continue in office. As a matter of

necessity, the people have spoken, and we have to respect what the

people have decided, so we will do this supply and confidence

arrangement with the DUP. There are strong areas of overlap but we don't

agree on everything. The key thing is to give the country certainty and

direction moving forward. That's the only viable option and people are

rallying behind that. Not all. George Osborne said this morning on

the BBC that Mrs May was a dead woman walking. He has made the

transition from Conservative MP to mischievous journalist with ease.

Most MPs when they listen to that will think it's disloyal,

unprofessional and frankly pretty self-indulgent. In reality I think

it will shore up support among a lot of MPs for Theresa May. What went

wrong? I'm not going to candy coat, sugar-coat the result here. We did

far worse than expected and we need to figure out the lessons to learn.

I know it went wrong, but why? There isn't anyone thing. You have to take

time to learn the lessons. We need to show some humility about the

result. Nick Timothy has written a column that touches on some of the

issues from his perspective. To be honest with you, I'm focused now, I

missed all the drama and disappointment of not getting the

result we wanted, focus on the facts. We got 56 more seats than the

Labour Party and we are the only ones who can put together a

legitimate parliament that can also be affected, passing a judgment and

pass legislation, however tricky it may be. That remains to be seen, you

might not be able to do that. We are the only ones, with the DUP, who

could form a viable and effective government that would reflect

legitimately the outcome of the election and we will focus 100% on

that. Let's do that. Mrs May promised strength and stability. We

now have a hung parliament and she is dependent on the DUP for the

slimmest of majorities. There is nothing strong and stable about

that. I have said to you, I will not tell you this result is the one we

wanted. We are disappointed. It's not strong and stable. It can still

be effective. It's also the only outcome that can respect and be

legitimate of the outcome of the election. At the end of the day, we

had campaigning, we can differ on the opinions, but the facts and

parliamentary arithmetic is there. The only way we can have an

effective government of any time that Del Paso budget is the

Conservatives with the support of the DUP. To do that you'll have to

make compromises you would not have to do make if you had won a

substantial majority. What part of the manifesto will have to go to get

a budget and a confidence motion through? 48 hours after the election

I can't answer that definitively. What we do have to do, every MP,

whatever part of the country they were elected, has to deliver as best

can be manifesto commitments. At the same time, that's what the country

expects. At the same time we had forced on us the need to be

flexible. The people didn't vote for your manifesto in the end. Something

has to go. The triple lock for pensioners that you were going to

change, the DUP is in favour of the triple lock. Does that bit of the

manifesto go? You can ask me any aspect of the manifesto, we'll know

more answers the detail next week. You were on our programmes more than

any Cabinet minister. You will be drafted back in. You should know. I

don't bet too much money on the tittle tattle in the media. We have

the outline of the supply and confidence arrangement with the DUP.

We are hammering out the details. Next week we will publish the

details. What about social care? You asking me about different points in

a manifesto but you know I can't answer that question until... I want

to deliver as much of the manifesto as possible. You don't have a

mandate to do that. That's because we've got... The Queen's speech is

only a week away, a week tomorrow. You are trying to work out what

parts, Labour lost, but you didn't win, and I'm trying to work out how

you just said we will have to comprise and make changes. It's

legitimate to ask which parts... I'm explaining I don't have the answers

on the detail because until we have formed the supply and confidence

arrangement with the DUP, we will not have those details. My starting

point is that we deliver as much of the manifesto as we conceivably can.

That's what the country expects because that's what they are elected

us to do. They have given us their verdict, we need to respect the

outcome of the election and we will not do it in the same way will as if

we had a stonking majority, obviously. The result has given a

kind of new spring in the step of politicians who wanted to remain in

the European Union. What do you make, and we heard Anna Soubry, and

many others have said it as well, that you need to reconsider your

Brexit stands, and in their language community soften your Brexit stands.

Whether you are a Scottish, Welsh or English MP, elected to Parliament

behind me on the basis of a manifesto that sets out in great

detail, a 75 page white Paper, the approach to Brexit. All this talk of

hard Brexit, our ambition is to get the best possible deal we can with

our EU partners. Do you change your stands because you didn't get a

majority for your Brexit position. Do you follow the advice of Ruth

Davidson, who talked of an open Brexit, framing a new Brexit

strategy? Hard and soft Brexit, I don't know exactly what Ruth means

by that. But she did a great job in Scotland. But every MP was elected

on our manifesto. We will deliver the plans of that manifesto as best

we can, including and especially on Brexit. Just a point of fact,

obviously be Conservative number of votes went up, Labour effectively...

The vote share went up, but we lost seats, but we are 56 seats ahead of

the Labour Party. The Labour Party effectively endorsed the leave the

EU strategy we set out and they didn't offer a alternative. So no

change on the Brexit strategy? And the anti-Brexit parties, the SNP and

Lib Dem, both suffered a fall in their vote share. The country has

said they want us to make a success of Brexit. So no change? The plans

in the White Paper set out are the right ones and the voters expect us

to deliver on the manifesto we ran on, whether you are a Scottish,

English or Welsh MP. I can hear your helicopter arriving to whisk you off

to the wry ministerial meeting. Let us know what job you get. Viewers in

Scotland will leave us for Sunday Politics Scotland now. Jeremy

Corbyn... Jeremy Corbyn may have

lost the election, but he's clearly cock-a-hoop

with the big increase in Labour's share of the vote and

the nmber of Labour On Friday he called

on Theresa May to resign, and said he was ready to govern

the country as a minority Speaking this morning, the Labour

leader said he thought there could be another election in the near

future. I think it's quite possible that there will be an election later

this year or early next year. And that might be a good thing, because

we cannot go on with a period of great instability. We have a

programme, we have the support, and we are ready to fight another

election campaign as soon as may be because you want to be able to serve

the people of this country on the agenda we put forward, which is

transformative, and has gained amazing levels of support. People

say, hang on, why are my children worse off than we are, why are my

grandchildren? This election wasn't just about Brexit, there was

something different about it. It was challenging the economic consensus

that has impoverished Sony people. The Labour

leader speaking earlier this morning.

We've been joined by the Shadow Health Secretary, Jon Ashworth.

A lot of Labour people have been behaving as if you have won this

election, can I point out you have lost three in a row?

Yes, but undoubtedly momentum is with us, and momentum is important

in politics. It looks like they got the young vote out and that's why

you did better-than-expected. The young vote certainly came out for

Labour. I found on my part of the world Tory voters switching to

Labour over things like the dementia tax, but I also think Ukip

supporters voted heavily for Labour because we wanted to invest heavily

in the NHS and schools, and people are fed up of cuts to public

services and the austerity agenda. So it was a good manifesto? You were

happy with it? Yes, I was part of putting it together. You would be

happy to fight another election based on that manifesto? Yes, I put

together the health section of that manifesto, which gives nurses and

midwives of the pay rise, I'm very happy with that manifesto. And yet,

you have this manifesto you were happy with, you will rub against a

Prime Minister who wanted to fight a personality led presidential

campaign, it then turned out the British people didn't think she had

much personality and wasn't presidential in nature. You had

momentum and you ended up winning no more seats than Gordon Brown in the

collection of 2010. Given where we were seven weeks ago, I looked at

the opinion polls and thought crikey, this could not be a good

result for Labour potentially. Theresa May thought she would have a

landslide victory and that's why she put her party first in going for

this snap election, and undoubtedly this campaign changed things. I

think the key moment was the manifesto week when the Labour Party

but forward proposed policies to the country which excited many people,

and the Tory party came forward with the dementia tax, getting rid of the

winter fuel payment, I think that was a turning point in the election.

What does Mr Corbyn do now? When I spoke to Ken Livingstone on Friday

he said we did so well on a socialist manifesto, we need more of

this. We need more socialism and we will do even better. Is that the

lesson Jeremy Corbyn will take or try to reach out more to the centre

of his party, now his position is unassailable does he try to reach

out beyond his own group? I think there is broad unity and the whole

party will come together to take on the Conservatives, who now have a

huge problem in Parliament. They can only offer a weak and unstable

government. She's trying to cobble together this supply and confidence

agreement with the DUP which means all of the decisions in Parliament

will be taken on a case-by-case basis. It isn't just the votes on

the floor of the House, all of is the statutory instruments will rely

on the support of the DUP. She will not be able to guarantee she can get

her programme through. We are likely to sue the Government collapse or

have a zombie Parliament where we are not debating and voting on

legislation because she knows she cannot get it through. If that's the

case, even if she puts together a deal with the DUP and it gets off

the ground but runs into the kind of difficulties you quite rightly say

are possible, and she cannot continue, should Mr Corbyn try to

form a minority government? I think so, I think we should try to put our

programme of getting rid of tuition fees, investing in the NHS, and ask

the other parties to support us. I'm anticipating your next question

which is what happens if that doesn't work, well then we are

probably heading to another general election at some point. I cannot

seem Theresa May surviving as the Prime Minister for the rest of this

Parliament for another five days to be frank but who knows. It's likely

that you think Mrs May cannot make this work, she can start to make it

work but as time goes on it could become more difficult, that Labour

could try to form a minority government but given that the

Parliamentary arithmetic is not great for her, it is much worse for

you, that it may not work? Yes, but you have a responsibility to try and

to challenge the other parties to support us honour policies of

investing in the NHS, investing in childcare, so that will be a

challenge for us but if the Conservatives cannot form a

government we would have to take up that responsibility. John McDonnell,

the Shadow Chancellor, said to me during the campaign there would be

no deals. You don't have to have deals. As I said to him, we have all

seen Borgen! They require deals, you have got to give them something. But

when you have an minority government, challenging MPs on the

other side to support new... My voters in Leicester South were not

invited to make a judgment on the DUP manifesto and yet we could have

a Conservative government propped up by the time being by the DUP, even

though that will have a huge impact on the peace process. I think it is

a different arrangement. A minority Labour government wouldn't

necessarily rule out getting support from the DUP, they might need it? If

they vote for us, everyone will see it because it will be transparent in

the way they vote. It does seem we are in for a period of instability

in British politics, that is the outcome of this election, and

usually when that happens it leads to a second election quite quickly.

It could lead to that, and it is ironic given the Tories promised a

strong and stable government, and the chaos she warned of is actually

chaos in the Tory party, but look at the number of seats in play at the

next election now. It will be a Labour Tory stand-off and as a whole

range of seats now with Tory majorities of a few hundred which

Labour is targeting. Seats which based on the 2015 result we didn't

think we could win. And Scotland is in play for Labour again, and it is

Scottish MPs sustaining Theresa May in Government at the moment. The

message in Scotland will be, if you want a Labour government, both

Labour. I bet you never thought you would say that, but let's leave it

there. Hello and welcome to Sunday Politics

in Northern Ireland. And we find ourselves

slap bang in the middle the attempts by Theresa May to form

a minority government. So what will the deal,

if there is one, look like? The DUP says it's not

in a position to take part so talking about that

potential agreement, plus their own election

performances, are representatives

from Sinn Fein, the SDLP, We'll also have analysis

from Stephen Walker in London and Allison Morris and

Newton Emerson will be joining me in studio later

to share their thoughts a remarkable few days

of political upheaval. and try to work out how precisely

we got to where we are, there's also the big question

about where we might be going. We know the Conservative Chief Whip

spent yesterday in Belfast Meantime in Westminster,

fears have been expressed about the DUP's approach to social

and moral issues. Here's our Political

Correspondent, Gareth Gordon. Theresa May has never been exactly

noted for her interest in Northern Ireland, but all of that appears to

have changed, and in a big way. This foray into East Belfast last week

brought her part the not so princely sum of 446 votes. But the DUP gives

political salvation for now. At what price? They are tough. They are

going to dry a very hard bargain and, like the 27 leaders in Europe,

they have seen they are not dealing with somebody strong and stable,

they are dealing with somebody who caves. They are going to have her

around their little finger and, frankly, they have already got there

by the speed with which she has done this today. The former spin doctor

was speaking from experience of the DUP. Others are downright hostile.

We have the party like the DUP, which is anti-same-sex marriage,

which denies climate change, at the forefront of British politics, and I

am absolutely petrified at the prospect of such a coalition of

chaos. Similar views were expressed at a protest in London yesterday.

DUP has got to go! Racist, sexist, anti-gay! But this former junior

minister says those views of the party are out of date. A caricature

of a party that may have existed 30 years ago. In the last ten years,

the book as has been on growing the economy, growing our tourism

industry. We have held a department in the past that has helped us get

the record levels of FDI, grow tourism and get major international

events and I think that is where the focus of the modern DUP years.

Concerns have already been expressed to Theresa May the leader of the

Scottish Conservatives, who is gay and thin plans to marry her partner.

I was fairly straightforward weather. I told her there is a

number of things that count to me more than party. One of them is

country, one of the others is LGBT rates. I asked for a categoric

assurance that there would be, if any deal or scoping deal with done

with the DUP, there would be absolutely no retention of LGBT

rates in the rest of the UK and Great Britain and that we would try

to use any influence that we had to advance those rights in Northern

Ireland. You don't have to go to Britain to find sceptics about the

DUP conservative deal. Oh mixed views on Carrick Vargas yesterday

but they are remembered King Billy's arrival in Ireland before the Battle

of the Boyne. It is particularly. Lots of English voters do not know

what they have let themselves and four. It is a good thing. If it will

help the country, I do not why not. I would love to hope and pray that

the DUP can go and get things for us, but can we get Stormont up and

running again please, local politicians? Just work together for

once, would you, please? The DUP Masie Theresa May's skin, but could

the price be the end of devolution at Stormont? Talks aimed at

restoring power-sharing are due to resume tomorrow. What impact it

enabled the DUP had been conservative deal had on them? The

British government has made a mistake, even in the recent past, of

siding with the DUP and holding up progress, preventing us reaching an

agreement on real power-sharing. As the British government wants to try

to unite with the DUP to turn back the clock, the mandate we received

on Thursday to make sure we do not allow anybody to turn back the clock

to the bus but instead continue to make progress. The fact that

potentially the DUP will be the Conservatives' government partners

asks very major questions about their ability to be an independent

guarantor of the agreement, or any of the processes here. Talks to

restore Stormont are no longer the biggest item on the DUP's in trade.

Devolution may have to wait. To discuss, we have

Mairtin O'Muilleoir from Sinn Fein. And Stephen Farry from

the Alliance party. The DUP said it wasn't

in a position to put anyone

forward for the programme. We're going to talk about the deal

between the DUP and the Tories, of course.

Mairtin O'Muilleoir, that report ended with you warning

about the Conservatives hindering a deal

between the DUP and Sinn Fein at Stormont.

The talks are supposed to start tomorrow.

Well, Sinn Fein will be at Stormont tomorrow. As you know, all of the

issues around agreement at Stormont could be sorted out expeditiously,

but I do think this new coalition, weather a coalition of chaos or

whatever, between the DUP and Tories will mean an assault on issues of

rates, respect and it will make a deal harder. There will be a price

to pay. The Tories are still wedded to austerity. As the DUP? Sir

Michael Farren, the Defence Secretary, a senior defence sector,

has said the deal will be about the DUP's support in government on big

economic and security issues. A lot of these things that people are

talking about expressing concerns about are not actually part of any

agreement being discussed. Of course, the DUP and Tories have not

spell out the nature of the deal yet. There has been a bit of a

wobble. Fallon spelt that out. Yesterday were told there was a deal

and now it is so and process because there's been a backlash from the

British people. It will end in tears but how long will it last? Will it

all because the British people say they do not want to have a coalition

with a party which is anti-gay, and he respect, and the Irish language?

In all stanzas, the DUP is more in 1977 than it I really do think the

British people and media are asking why we are getting into bed with an

organisation which in the last election was endorsed by the UDA,

UBS, the red hand commando. Theresa May warned about extremism in

politics and now performing a... You know that members of that party said

they did not want that endorsement. The MP for South Belfast is still

not renounced that endorsement and neither has the leader. Nicola,

Charlie Flanagan, the public's Minister for foreign affairs, has

said that the objectivity of both the British and Irish governments is

key as far as the Stormont negotiations are concerned. What is

your understanding? Or, to the wider issue about that relationship

between the Tories and the DUP and what that might mean for the

governance of the UK any moment, but in terms of its implications for

politics here in Northern Ireland, at Stormont, what is your reading of

where we are? It is very serious, Mark. The SDLP were clear at the

beginning of the first round of talks that the secretary of state

could not be accepted as an honest broker, particularly when it came to

the past. The British government are expected to be called guarantors of

the Good Friday Agreement. We expressed that concern. That was

then, and the situation... It has got even worse. Our first task is to

agree on an impartial jury. That needs to be neither side of business

first thing tomorrow morning. But it must not be allowed to run on and be

used as an excuse for not getting down to dogs and not getting the

institutions and running. I am sorry to raise the phrase red line, but is

that a line in the sand as far as you're concerned? There has to be an

independent doctor present? Anybody with in a sense looking at the

situation would realise that needs to happen. How can you have a

Secretary of State sitting at the table as an honest broker when they

are actually in understanding or agreement or arrangement, because

you're still not quite sure, with one of the parties round the table,

while also having the duty and responsibility of being a co-current

order of the Good Friday Agreement? It is not possible and anybody that

pretend otherwise is ludicrous. Do you accept that the situation has

changed? You might not have felt that before, but the accepted means

to be the case now? We are in a completely unique and different

situation. This is a very fluid and movable piece at the moment. I think

the main action initially will continue to be at Westminster. Yes,

we will come under that, I promise, any moment or two, but as far as

Stormont is concerned, will your talks team be turning up to Stormont

tomorrow to begin that three-week process? The Ulster Unionists will

be at Stormont tomorrow and hoping I'm expecting to see progress in

getting the Stormont institutions back up and running again. But are

you satisfied? That is what you want, that is what you see people

want, but you satisfied that a Secretary of State for Northern

Ireland will be able to demonstrate the kind of independence and

objectivity that would be required to reach an agreement between all

the parties? The Secretary of State, and indeed the Prime Minister, have

made no secret of their own news and views.

They are strongly prounion. But it is a different scenario now. We

welcome that the board. It is a fact of life that they have the

responsibility to administer the political affairs of Northern

Ireland. But they would be in bed with the DUP. It is a completely

different scenario. We are in a very fluid situation. Let's see what

happens at Westminster, if a deal can be brought together, and let's

also see then what repercussions it has potentially for Stormont. Where

you stand on a British Secretary of State 's objectivity, Stephen? There

is no a massive problem. Things were difficult before hand but he cannot

be objective in this contact any longer. And any circumstances?, even

if they go out and try to save water to be impartial mediators and try to

decouple what has happened in Westminster from Northern Ireland,

the reality is that a difficult decision as to be taken, whether now

or in six months. The Conservative Secretary of State, the UK

Government, will have one hand tied behind our back because if they push

the DUP into any issue, as they annoy them, the DUP will pull the

plug on whatever arrangement they have and the thing will come

crashing down. You're going to have to get over that. The facts of life

are it is the Conservative administration. It may well have the

support of the DUP, but it is a Conservative and Unionist and just

it. But surely the point is that if it comes to it, when undercooked --

normal circumstances the secretary of state would be pressuring the DUP

to agree to something that is not particularly keen about, the DUP

will tell it to get stuff? Those are the challenges. The alternative, of

course, to the DUP is to potentially hand the keys of Downing Street to

Germany Corbin. Not many unionists in Northern Ireland... The maths

won't let that happen. They can trigger an early general election.

The Conservative Party, in theory, can run on minority administration

and seek allies across the spectrum on different issues as they come

along, in particular as they were to pursue a more pragmatic approach to

a softer Brexit and forego what they the manifesto, they might find

support elsewhere in the House of Commons on different issues. They do

not need to do is cause a one-on-one deal with the DUP for stability, in

terms of the UK. If they want to, you cannot stop them. They cannot

stop them from doing that but the repercussions for Northern Ireland

are potentially severe. Do you think the prospect of a

restoration of devolution instalment are further away than ever? They are

more difficult, not impossible. I wouldn't want to rule it out but

there are two particular challenges. We have Sinn Fein is in a stronger

position, but further apart from the DUP than we've seen in the past.

Also, the sharing of independence, in terms of governance, one of the

key partners in a potential coalition has an in-built advantage

which outweighs that of the other parties, we don't have that proper

equilibrium. Those of us who've never seen the British Government is

independent in these matters are not surprised at all by this formal

coalition. The British Government has been a player here. We've never

said we would accept the independence of the Secretary of

State. Do you agree it is certainly more difficult but not impossible to

reach a deal? What I do believe is the British Government of finding a

deal when the talks were sabotaged by the calling of an election force

of the British Government has never been a passer-by or someone who is

just spectating. The Stormont has agreement and legacy failed because

the British Governor grenade, -- Renate. -- act out. -- backed out.

Of course it changes. But the non-unionist... No, no, no... The

non-unionist parties have to get over the fact, including Sinn Fein

and SDLP... They have to get over the political fact of life that the

Conservative Government re-elected, possibly with the assistance of a

Democratic Unionist party, that is the situation... It answers to the

DUP tumour. Your former party leader said yesterday it wouldn't be a good

idea for the UK Government to be dependent on any regional party. We

have yet to see the detail. Lets see because overnight... He said

Conservative backbenchers will not want to be held to ransom by the

DUP. That's properly correct but there is a case of political need

for the current Prime Minister. We are in a desperate situation, there

appears to be some nervousness on behalf of the DUP overnight so let's

see where this takes us over the next couple of days. Danny is making

his point but let's be sensible about this, OK. Say you have a

dispute in the workplace so you bring in a mediator, are we saying

it acceptable media as part of the management structure? It's as simple

as that. How do we get over this? We agree on an impartial chair to get

the talks up and running as a matter of urgency. Stephen is right, the

problem is we just had an election with an increasingly polarised

result. People have bigger mandate, they remind us about it, but what

are you going to do with those mandates? People are desperate to

get the institutions up and running. Words are great but it's time we got

the institutions up and running and if we did have a budget, all of

those things, schools would not be in a situation they are in, and

hospitals also, also, that's the key task. You said throughout this

campaign, Mairtin O'Muilleoir, Northern Ireland MPs did not, could

not, have any influence at Westminster and that's why you have

the abstention is the policy you have but you'd been proved

completely wrong because the DUP cartel wagging the Tory dog. Arlene

Foster and her ten MPs are about to have influence. Lets see what

happens this week and what this coalition tries to bring about and

that will be wide the DUP will be dictating to Theresa May where she

stands on rights and respectful stop it could be very good. Here is the

difficulty for Sinn Fein. This could deliver for people in Northern

Ireland, we had Arlene Foster say this morning, this is about

delivering for everybody in Northern Ireland, bringing investment,

benefits, ending austerity, and about the DUP's manifesto

commitments being delivered in Westminster in a way no one could've

imagined three or days ago. I have no doubt this coalition will be the

worst for the LGBT community. Those issues are not being discussed. They

are not part of the agenda. The DUP is not in favour of marriage

equality. They won't turn it might. It will be difficulty in equal

rights for gay people. You need to get back on the storm on to make

sure that's not the case. We want to do that. I don't believe you when

you say that. Our mandate on Thursday night was a strong mandate

and we do believe not only that you're about to collapse the

institutions of Stormont because they were not delivering the

Government people want... So you want to get back into Stormont? I

said that at the start of the programme. You need to compromise to

do that, and need to get rid of your Irish language thing, and Arlene

Foster being... The British gunmen signed on it and backed out of it.

Tomorrow morning we start dialogue. There are challenges for the DUP as

well. Broadly speaking, the Unionist opinion would welcome positive

influence from the prounion point of view in international Government, no

doubt about that but the difficulty in the balance the DUP have to find

is that how they balance it against more unpopular Tory Conservative

policies. When the Ulster Unionist Party had a link with the

Conservative Party in 2010, we were pilloried, absolutely verbally

abused, even by the DUP. Particularly by the DUP who called

us Tory boys. That was a completely different situation before the

election. That was a proper pact. Yes, there are good sides to be in

in Government with good news you can deliver on and there is a downside.

In a changing situation, about Brexit, and the economy, it gives us

a downturn leading to unemployment or further measures posterity, the

DUP cannot escape. Some compliance. This is why this could be unstable.

And why DUP could pull the plug on it in the future. That's why it's

important it's not just the deal we see in due course, but what happens

under the table. It may not be benign and responsible. There will

be all sorts of understandings reached, side deals. It untenable

without her full transparency. -- we don't have full transparency.

Posterity has cost us ?1 billion cash. -- austerity. If you would

have to work if they deliver the money. We would oppose austerity.

The DUP may be the party which owns austerity. They are opposed to the

ending of the triple lock as far as pensions are concerned, the end of

the pensioner went to payment. Let's see what success the Conservative

Party have. Can I ask you a question? If we had a budget, we

wouldn't be in this difficult situation. In terms of this

unravelling, I think that the irony is that you have the DUP during

gauging in this understanding because they want to give stability

to the union and its being rejected by parties across the union, the UK,

the Tory party as I think that's the irony. Just to remind people in case

they're just tuning in, the DUP has chosen not to be here to make its

case. Less than 50% for the first time ever and the majority against

Brexit, which would impose... You can't say the DUP didn't have a good

election. The three people at the far end of the table had a pretty

bad slap in the face. You have no chance of a border. Lets not talk

about that at the moment. Where do you go in terms of losing your three

seats? It was a bad night for the SDLP. Can you pick the pieces up?

Yes, it was a very bad result and a devastating blow considering the

calibre of the people we lost. Not just for their constituency but for

wider politics. We've been very clear. We need to hold a mirror up

to ourselves. The dynamic of politics on these islands is

changing and we need to have an honest conversation about that.

We're having a period of reflection and I won't shy away from trying to

look at things in a new way. Just to remind people about those figures,

let's take a look at the graphics which show how the results actually

ended up on Thursday night or the early hours of Friday morning. You

consider turn out there, 65.5%. That is the overall figure for sublets

look at the share of the vote and this is very revealing. The DUP with

over a third of the vote, almost 30% for Sinn Fein. The SDLP on nearly

12%. 10% for the Ulster Unionists. Here is the critical point, the

change from two years ago, 2015, the DUP up 10%, Sinn Fein, 5%, and the

rest are down. You can see there that the turnout was 7%. Danny,

those figures are not good as far as the Ulster Unionist Party is

concerned. No, but we understand the context in which this general

election has been fought. Clearly, there was a reaction from

grass-roots unionism to the rise of Sinn Fein through the assembly

election to the more aggressive nature of the political leadership

of Sinn Fein and the prounion people, largely decided, the best

message they could get was to support the DUP in this election. It

doesn't mean... The stronger of the two parties, the one who could

deliver. Not necessarily. We need to re-establish and make sure that the

prounion electorate have the confidence in the Ulster Unionist

Party to deliver on one or two key issues and to remain strong. Which

we are. Obviously we didn't gain any seats, but our vote has more or less

held. It went down. A fraction of voter share but... The boats are

still there. We are there, standing, viable alternative. We are merging

towards a strong unionist and nationalist voice. Our vote has held

and we are seen increasingly as that vehicle. OK, we've asked a lot of

questions today. I'm not sure how many satisfactory answers we have

provided. It will be an interesting couple of months ahead.

Now, there will be a big focus on Westminster this week as we see

what those efforts to put a government together look

like and it's being reported today that Arlene Foster is due to travel

to Downing Street on Tuesday to meet Theresa May.

Our Political Correspondent, Stephen Walker, is there.

Stephen, just talk is through first of all last night confusion about

the deal or no deal. Yes, it was very confusing. It was a bit like an

episode of the thick of it. It was a bitter shambles. At 7:30pm there was

a statement from Downing Street but basically said the principles of the

deal had been agreed, and the DUP had agreed in principle to do this

deal with the Conservatives effectively to keep them in power.

There was radio silence from the DUP until midnight when they then issued

a statement, not confirming in a statement did it been done but what

they did confirm was discussions were ongoing. Half an hour after

that, Downing Street issued another statement to basically say that

discussions were ongoing and the deal hasn't quite been done, so

there was a lot of confusion around last night. What appears to have

happened is an official from Downing Street released a statement in

error, a mistake, because of the confusion but today the position is

that those discussions are continuing. Arlene Foster is due in

Downing Street on Tuesday and the hopes of both sides I guess that

this deal can be done. We've got the prospect of a deal between the

Conservatives and the DUP but a lot of people across the water clearly

seem to be puzzled about what precisely the DUP represents. That's

right, the DUP must be the most research but your party on the

planet of the moment. Lots of newspaper articles, broadcasts about

the party, people want to know who the party are, what they stand for,

a lot of research going in so using lots of mentions of things about the

party 's stance on abortion, gay rights and creationism and all those

kinds of articles but the DUP are keen to stress can actually people

should member we've been in power-sharing in Northern Ireland,

with Sinn Fein, we have run Government departments so that the

message the DUP are trying to get out. Amongst Conservatives, who are

preparing to go into power, with the DUP, I suppose there are mixed

responses, those that know them well seem quite relaxed. There are good

relationships between the DUP and the Conservatives, and somewhere

people are nervous, concerned about their position on those social

issues but then the Conservatives have to come to this question, if

they want to remain in power, then they have to do a deal with the DUP.

What about Theresa May herself? The Tory grandees taking to the airwaves

seem to be at best qualified support. Some amazing stuff this

morning. George Osbourne of course, no lover of Theresa May's politics

and the way she handled the campaign, has described her as a

dead woman walking. Lord Heseltine, Tory grandees, said he does not

think she will fight another election. And Nicky Morgan, of

course was a cabinet minister, she is basically saying that she think

there will be a Tory leadership battle over the summer. There is an

awful lot of under his command of a lot of pressure on Theresa May. She

may be in Downing Street, but there is an awful lot of questions being

asked about the way she handled the election, and a lot of questions

being asked about whether or not she will be Prime Minister in six months

or 12 months. Stephen, just briefly, what are the key things you need to

look out for in the week ahead? Tuesday will be a key date. The DUP

will come your revolver ten MPs and there will be lots of photographs on

College Green. That is the day that Arlene Foster will meet Theresa May.

We anticipate a photograph in and around Downing Street. If this deal

is done, is as being talked about, the first big test will be tomorrow

week. That is the Queen's speech. If they are doing is confidence and

supply arrangement, the DUP would be expected to back the Queen's speech

on that day. That would be the first big test for the DUP. We leave it

there. Thank you very much indeed, Stephen Walker in Westminster.

And joining me now with their perspective on events

are Allison Morris and Newton Emerson.

Newton, it is hard to keep up, where are we? Gerry Adams has very

noticeably toned down the rhetoric over the weekend on the Tory, DUP

relationship and a border poll. I think everybody else should calm

down as well. The DUP, yes, is very ambitious for its Westminster deal

but it is also still absolutely desperate to get back to Stormont.

It recognises the danger there, the conflict of antagonising the

Nationalist electorate. It does not mean it will be able to resist it,

but it is clearly intending to stay with and social issues and focus on

getting Northern Ireland a bag of cash and goodies, particularly on

welfare reform and mitigating welfare reform, but I think makes it

more likely that Stormont will return. I think it is less likely

that Stormont will return as a result. Sinn Fein build-out of

Stormont and electorate have backed them on that. Their vote is

increasing again. The people who vote for Sinn Fein vote for them to

be abstention is. Martin O'Neill sitting in that seat was very clear

that Sinn Fein wanted to Stormont as soon as possible. They have said

repeatedly that will be no return of the status quo which means the red

lines are not movable. They will not go back of because everything they

want which the DUP will not give them and the DUP has very strong

position, given the fact they be in some kind of partnership coalition

in Westminster. I do not think they are going to be in any mood to

compromise with Sinn Fein. A lot of it does depend, Allison is correct,

about how the DUP manages to rein in its arrogance but listen to what

Gerry Adams said. Two months ago, Sinn Fein was grinning that it DUP

Ivan tore relationship would destroy the peace process. This weekend,

they're laughing it off as a flash and a plan that will end in tears.

They may or may not be right but they are turning that a on. What

actually happens, do you think, that Stormont tomorrow? We heard Nicola

very clear on what you had to say. There needs to be somebody

independent to chair the talks process, because no longer can the

British secretary of state be seen as an independent arbiter. Now, I

mean, a lot of people would have thought that was never the case, but

she seemed to be saying that the basic requirement? The chair does

not make the deal but again they see where they're coming from. At this

point in time, the Conservative Government are indebted to the DUP.

They need them to survive and stay afloat, so how can that Tory

Secretary of State be considered in any way independent? They could go

and bring somebody from America or rather like the in the past but

little thing that will help them get over the line. I do not think there

be any return to Stormont this side of summer. I will be surprised at

this up and running again by December. You both make two very

plausible arguments, you cannot both be right. The 20 will be discussed

before the election was a Stormont deal by the Ottoman. That timetable

might slip roads lately stop it depends on how long this

conservative arrangement looks likely to last. The main problem was

reappointing a chair, and Allison is right again, the timing of this

doesn't really matter. It would be an effective admission that the

British government is not an admission and I do not think that

admission needs to be made, because the DUP will be not be in the

British government. The counterargument to that would be to

say that we are now saying that no Northern Ireland party can

participate in any way on Westminster or Doyle voting. Charlie

Flanagan making it very clear that there needs to be an honest broker

in charge. The integrity and objectivity of both governments are

critical. Not surprising that he should say that. Does that help move

the process forward or draw up yet another obstacle? They're all going

to be there tomorrow. I do not think anybody everything will happen

tomorrow. We do not have a Secretary of State. There is no cheer at this

point of time. There is no budget as well, so the run-up be some kind of

partial direct role in that it will need to be administered by

Westminster before July because I not be Stormont before them. It is

hard to get out of that as well, so I think that we are heading. What is

the future for Theresa May? Speed of it will be difficult for the Tories

to get because we have come to believe in this country that a Prime

Minister made the personal mandate, which is against Parliamentary

representative democracy and its principles but we expect that

anyway. An unelected head of a minority government would really

struggle to have legitimacy. The Tories cannot risk trickling

accidentally an election or undermining their authority to that

point. Not in the foreseeable future, while curbing good win an

election. There are stuck. There is great unrest within the party. They

would like to ask but at this point in time, it could trigger an

election and going by the way the figures are, Corbin would win the

next one. That is the worst-case scenario, another election. I do not

think any others than the another election in the studio, not for a

while anyway! Thank you both very much indeed.

it seems Thursday night and Friday morning were a long time ago -

but what unfolded then has set up

the most remarkable of political stories.

Our coverage of the story will continue on TV,

radio and digital throughout the week,

and I'll see you on The View on BBC One on Thursday.

Until then, from everyone in the team, goodbye.

To the DUP candidate... But I have one. Northern Ireland's answer to

Jeremy Paxman. It's interesting. Unionism has awakened. I think when

you win you find out a lot about other people and when you lose you

find out a lot about yourself. Keep counting the votes!

We are certainly witnessing history. Thinking about how people are taking

the sort of result. And Martin, we did this for you.

But I am not going to keep you too much longer, because there is

parking to be done!