Conservatives agree pact with DUP to support May government

Pic:The two sides met in the Cabinet room

Political reporter(wp):

An agreement has been reached which will see the Democratic Unionist Party back Theresa May's minority government.

The deal, which comes two weeks after the election resulted in a hung Parliament, will see the 10 DUP MPs back the Tories in key Commons votes.

There will be £1bn extra for Northern Ireland over the next two years.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said the "wide-ranging" pact was "good for Northern Ireland and the UK" but one critic said it was a "straight bung".

The agreement has prompted calls for matching public investment in Wales and Scotland.

A three page document outlining the terms of the agreement has been published in full. The DUP said it would apply for the lifetime of the Parliament, scheduled to last five years, but would also be reviewed at the end of the current session in two years time.

There will be £1.5bn in funding - consisting of £1bn of new money and £500m of previously announced funds - to be spent over the next two years on infrastructure, health and education in Northern Ireland, money Mrs Foster said was needed to address the challenges from Northern Ireland's "unique history".

As part of the deal, the military covenant will be implemented in full in Northern Ireland, meaning more focus on the treatment of military veterans, while the triple lock guarantee of at least a 2.5% rise in the state pension each year, and winter fuel payments, will be maintained throughout the UK.

Other key points of the agreement include:

• The DUP will support the Tories on all Brexit and security legislation
• The UK's 2% Nato defence spending target will continue to be met
• Cash support for farmers will remain at current levels until the next election
• Both parties to adhere to commitments in Good Friday Agreement
• No Irish border poll without "consent of the people"

Mrs May shook hands with DUP leader Arlene Foster as she and other senior party figures arrived at Downing Street on Monday to finalise the pact. The two leaders then watched as Conservative chief whip Gavin Williamson and his DUP counterpart Jeffrey Donaldson signed the documents in No 10.

Speaking outside Downing Street, Mrs Foster said the agreement would bring stability to the UK government as it embarked on the Brexit process,

"This agreement will operate to deliver a stable government in the United Kingdom's national interest at this vital time," she said.

Welcoming the additional funding for Northern Ireland, she said it would benefit all communities. "Following our discussions the Conservative Party has recognised the case for higher funding in Northern Ireland, given our unique history and indeed circumstances over recent decades."

The UK prime minister said the pact was a "very good one" for the UK as a whole.

"We share many values in terms of wanting to see prosperity across the UK, the value of the union, the important bond between the different parts of the UK," Mrs May said. "We very much want to see that protected and enhanced

First Secretary of State Damian Green, a close ally of Mrs May's, said he hoped the extra money would help reviving devolved government in Northern Ireland.

"The money that is attached to this agreement is actually less than the money attached to the original Stormont agreement in 2014," he told the BBC. "We know Northern Ireland has particular needs, because of its history and difficulties.

"There are parts of the Northern Ireland infrastructure that needs particular help and that has been recognised on a continuing basis."

The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said most of the money being allocated to Northern Ireland would go to specific projects rather than general spending, meaning it would not necessarily impact on the Barnett formula which determines overall expenditure across the nations of the UK.

She said DUP sources pointed to the creation of a "coordination committee", suggesting this would give them a direct line in to government discussions and that this may prove particularly influential over the Brexit negotiations.

'Confidence and supply'

Under the so-called "confidence and supply" arrangement, the DUP will line up behind the government in key votes, such as on the Queen's Speech and Budgets, which would threaten the government's survival if they were lost.

They will also back Theresa May on Brexit and security matters, which are likely to dominate most of the current Parliament.

On other legislation, the DUP's support is not necessarily guaranteed - although the Northern Ireland party is expected to back the majority of the government's programme for the next two years after many of its more controversial policies were dropped.

Theresa May fell nine seats short of an overall majority after the snap election, meaning she is reliant on other parties to pass legislation, including relating to the terms of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

The support of the DUP will give her an effective working majority of 13, given that Sinn Fein do not take up their seven seats and Speaker John Bercow and his three deputies - two of whom are Labour MPs - do not take part in votes.

Several senior Tories had advised her to govern without any formal agreement with the DUP, arguing the unionist party would not be prepared to bring Mrs May down and run the risk of triggering a fresh election given their longstanding hostility to Jeremy Corbyn and other senior Labour figures.

Former PM Sir John Major warned that a formal association with the DUP could undermine attempts to restore power-sharing government in Northern Ireland while some MPs said the DUP's socially conservative stance on issues such as gay marriage and abortion could damage the party in the longer term.

Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones suggested Mrs May was "throwing money at Northern Ireland while ignoring the rest of the UK".

"Today's deal represents a straight bung to keep a weak prime minister and a faltering government in office," the Labour politician said.