It’s been announced this morning that a deal has finally been reached between the DUP and the Tories, whereby the DUP supply votes that support the Conservative government on certain issues. This article gives a breakdown of exactly what they have agreed to and what they gained because of it.

So what have the DUP actually agreed to do? Essentially they have said they will support the Tory government on specific issues. As outlined in the Confidence and Supply Agreement. The first issue included is the Queen’s speech which is essentially the vote that shows Theresa May has the support of the government. As well as this, they will support the budget, finance bills, money bills, and of course any legislation that needs to be passed regarding Brexit. The DUP are essentially giving the Conservatives the ability to hold a majority when making decisions in the Brexit negotiations. In return for this, the Conservatives have agreed to maintain certain positions on military spending and their commitment to power sharing. They do state that they ‘will never be neutral’ in their support for the Union but also say they will uphold the democratic wishes of Northern Ireland. This sends slightly mixed signals by saying that they will completely respect what people choose, while doing everything that they can to make sure no change ever comes. This section could be subject to some further scrutiny. If you would like to read the official release it can be found here. It is only 3 pages long so I would recommend having a brief look if you are interested.

Now, what have the DUP got in return for this support. They received a few things but the keep was money. They will receive an addition £1 billion over the next 5 years with the majority of that being received in the next 2 years. Below I’ve given a breakdown of where that money is going:

Infrastructure

£400 million – Flexible Infrastructure Projects – 2 Years

£150 million – Expanding Ultra-fast broadband – 2 Years

Targeting Deprivation

£100 million – Targeting areas of extreme deprivation – 5 years

Health and Education

£100 million – Addressing immediate pressures in the Health and Education – 2 years

£200 million – Delivering Health Service Transformation – 2 years

£50 million – Delivering Support for Mental Health

As well as these Capital incentives, there is a piece at the end stating that there will be measures taken to ensure that former members of the Armed Forces and Police will not be unfairly focused on in legacy cases. This seems very concerning considering the DUP and the Conservatives came out and said that these personnel were being unfair targeted while the Northern Ireland prosecutor completely refuted these claims. Might we be about to witness the Government attempt to have its presence felt in the courtrooms? A very worrying issue to consider when seeing this aim implemented. If you would like to analyse the document yourself, the full financial support document can be found here.