Criticism Builds as Theresa May Prepares to Form New Government
And even the customs union does not allow Britain to make its own trade deals with other countries in
the world, as the Brexit supporters demand — it has to follow European Union trade arrangements.
But Mrs. May suffered something of a blow when a former Conservative prime minister, John Major, urged her to avoid any deal with the unionists because of the potential for destabilizing Northern Ireland and harming the Good Friday agreement, the 1998 deal
that brought relative peace to Northern Ireland, especially at a moment when power-sharing in Belfast has broken down.
Mrs. May will not regard those comments as helpful, and she has already said
that she wants an exit that will take Britain out of the European Union’s single market and customs union.
But Mrs. May has no other options if she is to have a government
that provides a semblance of stability, as she has promised, with negotiations on Britain’s exit from the European Union, known as Brexit, looming as early as next week.
" Mr. Major said. that The danger is that however much the government tries, they will not be seen to be impartial
if they are locked into a parliamentary deal in Westminster with one of the Northern Ireland parties,
