Theresa May seen out shopping with husband Philip as she sends her Chief Whip to Belfast to thrash out Tory-DUP deal
THERESA May was spotted out shopping today as she despatched her Chief Whip to Belfast to hammer out a deal with the DUP and help form a Government.
Gavin Williamson has been tasked with making sure the Northern Irish party’s 10 MPs will vote with the Tories and allow her to cling on to power despite a poor election performance.
She is seeking up to shore her position in Number 10 after the results of the snap poll saw her lose her Commons majority.
And after she faced calls from all sides to quit as Prime Minister yesterday - this morning both of her key aides quit.
Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill - her all-powerful co-chiefs of staff - revealed they had resigned after being blamed for their boss’ poor performance in Thursday’s poll.
Meanwhile Mrs May was seen out and about doing some shopping with her husband Philip, who was pictured trailing behind, bags in hand.
Yesterday she gave a speech outside Downing Street where she made clear she wants support from her "friends and allies" in the DUP to secure her minority administration ahead of the Queen's Speech on June 19.
Mr Williamson, whose day-to-day job is to marshall the ranks of Tory MPs to make sure they vote for the Government, has travelled to Belfast to try and sort out an agreement.
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The 40-year-old, a former aide to David Cameron, is Mrs May's enforcer - and is known for keeping a pet tarantula called "Cronus" in his office in Parliament.
The talks with the DUP leader Arlene Foster will be on "how best they can provide support" for Mrs May's government.
It is understood the initial discussions will include the possibility of making a formal coalition, such as the one the Conservatives made with the Liberal Democrats in 2010.
What demands the DUP would make in such a deal are not clear, but despite being pro-Brexit they are heavily against creating a so-called “hard border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The potential deal between the two parties has already drawn criticism, as the largest party in the province (with 10 MPs) is extremely socially conservative.
There have already been protests outside No10 by groups angry at their stance of gay and abortion rights.
But the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said she has received assurances from the Prime Minister over the safety of gay rights after any agreement with the DUP.