Tories Form New Government

By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront

The 2017 UK General Election produced one of the most precarious political settlements in recent British history. Theresa May’s Conservatives, though securing their highest vote share since 1983, fell short of an outright majority. In the aftermath, the Prime Minister turned to Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), led by Arlene Foster, to negotiate a confidence‑and‑supply arrangement that would keep her government afloat. The DUP’s ten MPs became indispensable, and the deal was struck under intense pressure to avoid a constitutional crisis.

The election itself had been framed almost entirely around Brexit. May had called the snap poll in the hope of strengthening her hand in negotiations with Brussels, but the gamble backfired. As The Guardian and BBC reported at the time, the campaign was marked by her refusal to participate in head‑to‑head televised debates, leaving Jeremy Corbyn and other party leaders to appear in separate interviews instead. The referendum of 2016, which had prompted David Cameron’s resignation, still loomed large. Many voters, particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland, had opposed leaving the European Union, but the Conservatives campaigned on a clear commitment to deliver Brexit regardless.

The DUP deal, signed in late June 2017, guaranteed support for the government on budgets, Brexit legislation, and national security. It also reaffirmed commitments to NATO’s 2% defence spending target and the principles of the Good Friday Agreement. Yet the financial terms of the agreement provoked outrage. As Financial Times and BBC News highlighted, the Conservatives promised an additional £1 billion in funding for Northern Ireland, far more than comparable regions such as the North East of England. Critics, including Labour MPs, denounced the arrangement as a 'political bribe' that undermined the impartiality of the British government in Northern Ireland—a cornerstone of the peace settlement.

The backlash was immediate. Protests erupted in Westminster, with thousands rallying against both the DUP and the Conservatives. Placards read 'Pray DUP Away' and 'Tories Out, Don’t Be Duped.' More than half a million people signed petitions demanding May’s resignation and rejecting any deal with the DUP. Commentators in The Independent and The Guardian warned that the arrangement risked deepening divisions, particularly as Northern Ireland had voted to remain in the EU. The DUP’s hardline stance on social issues and its leverage over Brexit negotiations added further unease.

Meanwhile, the EU insisted that Britain conclude negotiations by autumn 2018 to allow time for ratification. May, weakened by her reliance on DUP votes, faced the daunting task of steering legislation through a fractious Parliament where as few as seven Conservative rebels could topple her government. The Labour Party, emboldened by its stronger‑than‑expected showing under Jeremy Corbyn, positioned itself as the voice of opposition, promising to resist austerity and promote democratic socialism.

The broader context was one of austerity fatigue and uncertainty for millions of EU nationals in Britain, who were told they must apply for “settled status” despite many already holding permanent residency. Cuts to public services, combined with the political instability of a hung Parliament, left the country unsettled. As The Guardian noted, May’s authority was 'fragile, conditional, and constantly at risk of collapse.'

In retrospect, the DUP deal symbolised the fragility of May’s premiership. It bought her time, but at the cost of accusations of unfairness and political opportunism. The arrangement underscored the volatility of British politics in the Brexit era, where tactical retreats and uneasy alliances became the price of survival. For Labour, the episode reinforced its narrative that the Conservatives were governing without legitimacy, while for May, it marked the beginning of a long struggle to maintain control in a Parliament where instability was the new normal.