The Latest: DUP agrees principles to back UK Conservatives

The deal sits uneasily with some Conservatives because of the DUP’s opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

The Protestant unionist party also had links with outlawed paramilitary groups during the years of Northern Ireland’s “Troubles.”

May’s office says that the DUP had agreed to in outline to a “confidence and supply” arrangement. That means the DUP will back the government on key votes, but it’s not a coalition government or a broader pact. Downing St. says the Cabinet will discuss the agreement Monday.

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7:30 p.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed a new chief of staff following the resignation of her two top aides.

Gavin Barwell, a former housing minister, replaces joint chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill. They quit Saturday after becoming a focus of blame for the Conservatives’ election disaster.

Barwell was one of the Conservative lawmakers who lost his seat in Thursday’s election, which saw the party lose its parliamentary majority.

The humiliating result has heaped pressure on May to resign, but she says she will stay and lead Britain during exit talks with the European Union.

May said that “I want to reflect on the election and why it did not deliver the result I hoped for.

“Gavin will have an important role to play in that.”

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1:35 p.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s two chiefs of staff have resigned in the wake of the Conservative Party’s disastrous election result.

The party said Saturday that Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill have quit.

The pair formed part of May’s small inner circle and were blamed by many Conservatives for the party’s lacklustre campaign and unpopular election platform.

In an article for the Conservative Home website, Timothy conceded that the campaign had failed to communicate “Theresa’s positive plan for the future,” and to notice surging support for the opposition Labour Party.

Some senior Tories have made the removal of Hill and Timothy a condition for continuing to support May, who has vowed to remain prime minister despite the Conservatives’ losing their overall majority in Parliament.

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9:45 a.m.

Beleaguered British Prime Minister Theresa May is appointing new members of her government after several of them lost their seats in Parliament in this week’s general election that proved disastrous for her Conservative Party.

May’s office has already said that the senior Cabinet members — Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd — will keep their current jobs, but she is expected to reshuffle the lower ranks of ministers.

May’s party fell short of an overall majority following Thursday’s vote, and plans to work with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party.

May’s position seems safe for the near future because Britain must start negotiations later this month on leaving the European Union, but most British newspapers agreed Saturday that she is only just clinging on.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

The Latest: DUP agrees principles to back UK Conservatives

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