BRUSSELS (AP) — The leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party has used her keynote speech at the annual conference to reject the British government’s planned Brexit deal.
Arlene Foster said in Belfast on Saturday that the deal agreed by Prime Minister Theresa May is unacceptable and must be improved upon in the weeks ahead.
Foster’s view is important because the DUP provides crucial votes that help keep May’s Conservative Party in power despite its minority position in Parliament.
She said that the draft agreement raises constitutional questions that can’t be ignored.
Foster said the DUP insists on “an outcome that does not leave Northern Ireland open to the perils of increased divergence away from the rest of the United Kingdom.”
The DUP has said it may drop its backing of the government because of the Brexit plan.
