Following the General Election a number of residents have been in touch with Kevin about the prospect of the Government being supported by the Democratic Unionist Party via a “Confidence and Supply Arrangement”. The DUP won 10 seats at the General Election and is the largest party in Northern Ireland.
In this special “Kev’s Column” Kevin sets out his views on this idea:
“Whilst the result in Torbay was decisive the overall election result leaves a huge amount of uncertainty at a key time for our nation as the Brexit negotiations are about to start.
My party must look at what went wrong with our recent election campaign. The proposals on Social Care funding, a key issue for our bay, were unclear and lacked the necessary commitment to seek cross party support for any change, vital to resolving this long-term issue. Other matters, such as Fox Hunting (I oppose repeal of the ban), served as nothing more than time wasting distractions from the core issues around how we deliver the choice made by the British people in last year’s referendum to leave the EU.
Yet whatever the conclusion of debates about my party’s campaign I am clear that the Prime Minister, the Government and Parliament as a whole needs to get on with the job we have been elected to do, namely to deliver the will of the British people and bring the Brexit negotiations to a successful conclusion. Our nation will not be well served by the largest party in parliament spending the next three months holding a leadership election. This means the Government must secure a position where it enjoys the confidence of the House of Commons.
The DUP have offered to play their part in ensure our nation has stability by talking with the Government about offering their support where necessary to achieve this. The Liberal Democrats, with a similar number of MPs, have indicated they do not wish to talk to any party about creating stability for our nation and would rather play party political games instead. Given the SNP’s wish to break up our nation there can be no prospect of a deal between my party and them, something Nicola Sturgeon has clearly rejected anyway.
Whilst some residents have discussed whether a “Grand Coalition” could be formed, where Labour and Conservative Parties govern together. These have only existed in the times of greatest crisis for our nation such as 1940 when it was clear normal debate had to be suspended. Given the divergence in policies between the two parties there is no prospect of this currently, although it is common for the Government and Opposition Benches to talk through the “usual channels” about individual bills to see if consensus can be found to save time in parliament. Yet the “Usual Channels” cannot be the basis for a programme for Government.
This means talking to the DUP is the only option to allow the current parliament to form a Government, given that the DUP have rejected working with a Corbyn led Labour Party blocking them from doing so. It is worth noting that in 2010 then Labour leader Gordon Brown had sought an agreement with the DUP in the hope of keeping his party in Government if the Liberal Democrats had not joined with the Conservatives.
There are areas where my party agrees with the DUP, not least our fundamental belief that the Union of our four nations is greater than the sum of its parts and on areas like retaining the UK’s Nuclear Deterrent. Yet on other areas the DUP are closer to the type of fiscal policies the last Labour Government put in place, for example opposing some welfare reforms and voting against raising University Tuition Fees.
The points many have been highlighting are in relation to social issues where the DUP have a very different approach to that of England and Wales, with mention made of issues such as Abortion and Same Sex Marriage. Yet many of these comments miss that the main Northern Irish Parties all oppose Abortion, which is a devolved matter, including the SDLP which is Labour’s sister party and whose candidates the party does not stand against. Abortion also remains banned in the Republic of Ireland.
At Westminster Abortion is a free vote matter and this means the Government does not bring forward any bill on the matter. Since 1967 any changes in the law have been based on backbenchers bringing bills forward, this position remains unchanged and any arrangement with the DUP does not change this parliamentary practice. The law could not be changed without the consent of parliament, which would, on its current balance, not support the position in Northern Ireland.
In terms of the protections granted by law in terms of equalities, another issue raised with me, there is no prospect at all of parliament reducing or removing these. In contrast over the last year legislation has been passed finally granting a pardon and the removal from criminal records of convictions under defunct and bigoted legislation that has long since been repealed.
As Torbay’s MP I supported this change and would not support any efforts to go back to a time when the state tried to dictate by law what relationships consenting adults should have. I will also not support moves to weaken legal protections contained in the Equality Act.
There will not be a formal coalition as there was in 2010. There will be no DUP Ministers in Government. Whilst a “confidence and supply” agreement will see them agree to vote against a motion of No Confidence and help pass key budget votes, it will still be open to the Government to seek the support of other parties, including the Opposition Frontbench, for individual items of legislation and parliamentary business. This could include seeking cross party support on areas, such as action on Climate Change, where the DUP stance may not reflect our own.
The election result leaves no easy choices in terms of the way forward and there will be compromises needed throughout this parliament. Yet all 650 MPs have been elected to serve their constituents and to ensure the effective Government of our nation. It is these two duties that must be paramount in all our minds.”