This is what a Conservative-DUP alliance could mean for the LGBT community
The Conservative Party will attempt to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist Party, which opposes a raft of LGBT rights.
So what could this mean for the LGBT community?
Arlene Foster’s ultra-conservative Northern Irish party has previously supported the introduction of a ‘conscience clause’ to protect religious people who want to discriminate against anyone who is LGBT.
This means LGBT people could be refused service or turned down for jobs simply because of their sexuality or gender.
The DUP has stalled all progress on equal marriage in Northern Ireland, attempted to retain a lifetime ban on gay men giving blood, and opposed same-sex couples adopting children.
But when it comes to a 155-year-old law which can punish a woman with life imprisonment for terminating a pregnancy, the DUP is fully in favour.
Theresa May is set to visit Buckingham Palace today to ask the Queen for permission to continue in government, with the “understanding” that she has the DUP’s support.
May’s Conservative Party had its majority wiped out overnight as it lost a dozen seats, and now needs help from the DUP and its 10 MPs to avoid the perils of ruling with a minority government.
May pledged to PinkNews that the Gender Recognition Act would be reformed in the next parliament, saying that “the legal process to change their gender can be distressing, so changes do need to be made.”
It remains to be seen how a partnership with the extremely conservative DUP would affect this promise.
The DUP lost its power to veto same-sex marriage following the last election in Northern Ireland, as it gave up 10 of its 38 seats in Stormont during the March vote.
The DUP is still the biggest Northern Irish party in both Stormont and Westminster.
Following a devolved assembly election earlier this year, the DUP is required to form a new power-sharing government with the second-largest party, Sinn Féin – but talks have repeatedly stalled.
Northern Ireland does not currently have an executive, with the DUP apparently stating that a same-sex marriage ban is their ‘red line’ in the country’s ongoing power-sharing negotiations.
It is currently the only part of the UK without same-sex marriage, because the DUP has employed peace process powers known as ‘petitions of concern’ to block all progress.
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, lost almost his entire 8,000 majority in yesterday’s vote.
In a shock result, the Cumbria MP, who has been embroiled in controversy for his views on gay sex, almost lost to the Conservative Party, clinging on by just 700 votes.
Another Lib Dem candidate, who said “feminising hormones in the water supply” affect people’s sexuality, failed in her election bid.
Susan King, who stood in the west Midlands seat of Telford, limped in with just 954 votes in the June 8 election, which resulted in a hung parliament.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Theresa May to resign as British Prime Minister after a shock exit poll showed – correctly, as it turned out – a hung parliament.
Our best realistic hope is that while LGBT rights may not progress under a Conservative-DUP alliance, the prominence of Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems in parliament will stop us from sliding backwards.
Because of the DUP’s retrograde views, we made our own version of its party political broadcast.
Watch the video below:
