NORTHERN Ireland’s DUP has demanded a whopping £2 billion in return for supporting Theresa May’s minority Tory government.
The hard-line unionists also accused the Prime Minister and her party of taking their support for granted, claiming a deal was almost reached over the weekend before “backbiting” Tory MPs accused the DUP of being “unsavoury”.
Discussions between the two parties started shortly after the election, when the Tories failed to win an outright majority.
DUP sources have said they were holding out for £1bn investment in the health service in Northern Ireland and another £1bn for infrastructure projects.
They’ve also demanded corporation tax to be slashed, air passenger duty (APD) to be scrapped, city deals for local councils in Northern Ireland and increases in defence spending.
Yesterday morning Tory minister Damian Green said talks were “progressing well” but admitted there might not be an agreement before the House of Commons votes on the Queen’s Speech next week.
During a radio interview he said: “Clearly, two political parties, we have some differences. But we have a lot in common.
“We’re both unionist parties at our heart. We’re both obviously very concerned with combating terrorism, we both have similar views about delivering a good Brexit for this country and obviously, we’re both very, very concerned with the Irish border issue.
“But all talks of this kind take a long time, and they’re still continuing.”
The DUP said Downing Street’s negotiating team were chaotic.
“Conservative high command ought to stop their backbenchers whingeing about the DUP and show our party some respect,” a source said.
“They attempted to bounce us into a deal on Saturday night and then we had the backbenchers saying that we were unsavoury, etc.”
The Commons arithmetic means that in order for her programme for government to pass next week, May will need the support of all of her own MPs and eight others.
Traditionally the vote on the Queen’s Speech is considered a vote of confidence in the ruling party.
Stanley Baldwin was the last Prime Minister who failed to convince enough MPs to back his legislative programme.
Back in 1924, the defeat of the gracious address he’d written for George V led to his resignation, and his minority Tory administration being replaced by Ramsay MacDonald’s minority Labour administration.
However, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, introduced in 2011 by the Tory-LibDem coalition in a bid to make government stronger and more stable, means simply failing to pass the Queen’s Speech would not be enough to bring down the government, though it would be hard for May to remain as prime minster.
Recent reports suggest Labour, SNP and LibDem MPs are planning on tabling amendments to the Queen’s Speech that would be difficult for some of the more centrist, pro-Remain Tory MPs to vote against.
They believe enough of May’s backbenchers can be convinced to rebel against the government or abstain.
It has been claimed that Labour chief whip Nick Brown met with Alistair Carmichael, the LibDem chief whip, to discuss the “plot”.
Labour are likely to be proposing amendments on rights for tenants to demand fire protection measures and easier access to the EU single market for companies.
The LibDems are proposing an amendment to force the government to guarantee an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
If the Queen’s Speech can be amended, it suggests the Tories will not be strong enough to govern.
It seems unlikely May’s MPs or the DUP will allow that to happen.
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