In a desperate, scorched-earth attempt to remain in power, the unionist Tories are willing to ensure the break-up of the UK, shamelessly fanning anti-Scottish resentment in England while fuelling the SNP juggernaut. But we have had all too much scrutiny of the SNP, some of it bordering on hysteria. Where, then, is the debate about the Tories’ likely partners were David Cameron to attempt to remain in power, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party? The idea of these bigoted throwbacks to several centuries ago holding the balance of power should surely frighten even moderate Tories, let alone the rest of us.

Let’s take Jim Wells, the DUP health minister in Northern Ireland. At a hustings in South Down last night, he declared that “the gay lobby is insatiable, they don’t know when enough is enough”. Bear in mind that in Northern Ireland, 47% of LGBT people have reportedly considered suicide, while another quarter had attempted it. But it gets so much worse. He went on to declare: “The figures show that. The facts show that you certainly don’t bring a child up in a homosexual relationship. That child is far more likely to be abused or neglected …”

He was met with cries of “Rubbish” and “You should be ashamed of yourself”.

Wells has since issued an apology for his comments.

Where do you even begin. This statement is not only factually baseless, but it is little more than hate speech. Gay people are portrayed as child abusers, and a threat to the wellbeing of children: it is bad enough that this bile is expressed by one of Northern Ireland’s key government ministers. But in two weeks’ time, his party could be holding the balance of power in the UK.

Wells is no maverick. The DUP once championed the “Save Ulster from Sodomy” campaign in a bitter attempt to prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Iris Robinson, a former DUP MP and the wife of the party’s leader, described homosexuality as “disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked and vile”, as well as an “abomination” that could be “cured”. On top of blocking equal marriage, the DUP has tabled a bill that would permit discrimination against LGBT people by exempting those with “strongly held” religious beliefs from equality laws. Then there’s the DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr, who declared that he was “pretty repulsed by gay and lesbianism. I think it is wrong”, adding that they “harm society”.

It’s not just their homophobia. They oppose the right of women to an abortion, with Wells supporting a ban even for rape victims. Creationism is a powerful vein within the party. And even as public support for the death penalty is in welcome steep decline, back in 2011 the DUP called for a parliamentary debate to reinstate it.

Here is the big danger. A Tory-led government would probably not just be reliant on the DUP, but Ukip, too. They will make common cause with the large, rabidly rightwing contingent on the Tory backbenches. The hard right will have more political influence over the national government than at any other point in postwar British history. This will, of course, all but guarantee Scottish independence: Scottish MPs will be locked out of the new government, and the SNP will stick a new referendum in their 2016 Holyrood manifesto, and almost certainly walk such a vote amid widespread Scottish revulsion.

This is Britain, in 2015: the idea that these political extremists could have any meaningful power is chilling. It could well be the reality in just two weeks’ time.