UK's May strikes $1.3 billion deal with Northern Irish party to prop up government

[webfact]

UK's May strikes $1.3 billion deal with Northern Irish party to prop up government

By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton

 

Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, shakes hands with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Leader Arlene Foster, outside 10 Downing Street, in central London, Britain June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May struck a deal on Monday to prop up her minority government by agreeing to at least 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in extra funding for Northern Ireland in return for the support of the province's biggest Protestant party.

 

After over two weeks of talks and turmoil sparked by May's failure to win a majority in a June 8 snap election, she now has the parliamentary numbers to pass a budget and a better chance of passing laws to take Britain out of the European Union.

 

May and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster presided at the signing of a three-page so-called "confidence and supply" deal that is some way short of a more formal coalition agreement.

 

It means the DUP's 10 lawmakers will now vote in support of May's 318 Conservatives in the 650-seat parliament on the budget, legislative agenda, motions of confidence and Brexit.

 

In return, May agreed to at least 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in extra funding over two years for Northern Ireland, agreeing to raise pensions annually by at least 2.5 percent and to keep universal winter fuel payments for the elderly.

 

"I welcome this agreement, which will enable us to work together in the interest of the whole United Kingdom, give us the certainty we require as we embark on our departure from the European Union, and help us build a stronger and fairer society at home," May said in a statement.

 

May linked her deal with an attempt to end Northern Ireland's political crisis by stipulating the money would only be released to a power-sharing executive in Belfast, raising pressure on the DUP to come to an agreement with their Catholic nationalist rivals.

 

However a Conservative party spokesman said that there would be a mechanism for the money to be released via a consultative committee even without a deal to restore power-sharing.

 

"The Conservative Party has recognised the case for higher funding in Northern Ireland given our unique history and circumstances over recent decades," DUP leader Foster told reporters in Downing Street. "We welcome this new financial support of 1 billion pounds."

 

Leaders of Scotland and Wales voiced anger at the deal, saying it would weaken, not strengthen, the ties that bind the United Kingdom by "throwing money" at one of its devolved regions at the expense of others.

 

"Today's deal represents a straight bung to keep a weak prime minister and a faltering government in office," said Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones of the Labour party.

 

Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "In concluding this grubby, shameless deal, the Tories (Conservatives) have shown that they will stop at nothing to hold on to power – even sacrificing the very basic principles of devolution."

 

Gerry Adams, president of the Irish Catholic nationalist Sinn Fein party, said the deal provides a "blank cheque" for a Brexit that threatens peace in Northern Ireland.

 

The deal with the DUP, which won 292,316 votes in the June 8 election, will run for the life of the current parliament due to end in 2022 but will be reviewed after each parliamentary session and most of the funding is due in the first two years.

 

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn questioned how the government had found a billion pounds given planned spending cuts, which he said should now be cancelled for all the United Kingdom, not just the province of Northern Ireland.

 

Even with DUP lawmakers onside, May's effective majority is slim and her position remains insecure though she has promised to extricate the Conservatives from what she termed the "mess" of the election.

 

Her strategy for a complete break of Britain from the EU is under scrutiny and her future as prime minister is the subject of public debate with speculation that she could be challenged from within her own party within months.

 

FRAGILE PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

 

While May negotiated the DUP deal, senior Conservatives such as ex-Prime Minister John Major raised concerns the deal risks pitching the province back into turmoil by convincing "hard men" on both sides of the sectarian divide to return to violence.

 

The fear was that increasing the influence of pro-British unionists over the British government could create the perception that London was no longer an honest broker of the peace settlement reached in 1998.

 

The U.S.-brokered Good Friday agreement brought an end to three decades of violence in Northern Ireland that killed 3,600 people.

 

Northern Ireland has been in crisis since Sinn Fein pulled out of its government in January, prompting an election in March and a series of missed deadlines to restore the compulsory coalition between Catholic nationalists and pro-British Protestant unionists.

 

"I will be returning to Northern Ireland to continue our discussions as we attempt to re-establish the Northern Ireland Executive," Foster said. "Now more than ever, political leaders, both locally and nationally, need to work together to find solutions for all the people we serve."

 

The latest deadline set by May's government for the parties in Northern Ireland to reach a deal is Thursday. Sinn Fein said the extra money for Northern Ireland would not in itself guarantee that power-sharing in the province would be restored by the new deadline.

 

"Time is running short for the parties to come together and reach agreement to re-establish power-sharing," May said. "Northern Ireland needs a functioning devolved government at this important time."

 

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary in Edinburgh, Amanda Ferguson in Belfast, Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Alistair Smout in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-27

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "In concluding this grubby, shameless deal, the Tories (Conservatives) have shown that they will stop at nothing to hold on to power – even sacrificing the very basic principles of devolution."

In other words, "Whaur's mine?"

[Dave67]

Its sickening to see Mays desperation to cling to power

[jobwolf]

Talk about vote bying

[lamecn]

So now it's legal to buy votes in the UK?

[RuamRudy]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

In other words, "Whaur's mine?"

Well Scotland is shoring up the Tories to the tune on 90 million pounds in order to keep a feckless, incompetent PM in power for another few weeks through a shameful deal with a corrupt bunch of backwards thinking terrorist sympathisers. Should Sturgeon keep quiet, or stand up for Scotland? Certainly Mundell and Davidson have shown that their allegiances lie in Downing Street and not with the people of Scotland. 

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, NanLaew said:

In other words, "Whaur's mine?"

 

Just as she will stop at nothing to further her one and only agenda.

 

Regardless of the affects, consequences and any ethics.

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

Well Scotland is shoring up the Tories to the tune on 90 million pounds in order to keep a feckless, incompetent PM in power for another few weeks through a shameful deal with a corrupt bunch of backwards thinking terrorist sympathisers. Should Sturgeon keep quiet, or stand up for Scotland? Certainly Mundell and Davidson have shown that their allegiances lie in Downing Street and not with the people of Scotland. 

 

Sorry, but are you suggesting that Scotland subsidizes Westminster rather than the other way around?

 

Could you explain that one?

[RuamRudy]

1 minute ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Sorry, but are you suggesting that Scotland subsidizes Westminster rather than the other way around?

 

Could you explain that one?

Did you actually mean to write that? I presume you understand that the Westminster you refer to is not a value generator in itself? 

 

Assuming that you meant that the UK as a whole, the attached chart is from the UK government's own data,

 

Note that Scotland is 4th in terms of contribution to the UK exchequer by region. Also note that this figure excludes oil and gas, which have, since the 1970s, produced more than 330 billion pounds to the UK exchequer. Not that I would grudge that if it hadn't been used to prop up a selfish culture of tory greed and British decline.

[NanLaew]

3 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

Well Scotland is shoring up the Tories to the tune on 90 million pounds in order to keep a feckless, incompetent PM in power for another few weeks through a shameful deal with a corrupt bunch of backwards thinking terrorist sympathisers. Should Sturgeon keep quiet, or stand up for Scotland? Certainly Mundell and Davidson have shown that their allegiances lie in Downing Street and not with the people of Scotland. 

Maybe she sees the folly of the very public 'no deal' statements about any coalition before the election. I reckon £1 billion would have seen her power sharing with another rather inadequate party leader with the enviable bonus of being able to give EVERYONE in Scotland a free bus pass for life.

Edited June 27, 2017 by NanLaew

[RuamRudy]

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Maybe she sees the folly of the very public 'no deal' statements about any coalition before the election. I reckon £1 billion would have seen her power sharing with another rather inadequate party leader with the enviable bonus of being able to give EVERYONE in Scotland a free bus pass.

Partisan politics and wholesale swallowing of Daily Mail propaganda at its worst. 

Tell me again why Sturgeon is inadequate? Majority of MPs in Westminster, control of Holyrood - again. Or did you Mean TM being the inadequate one, because her disastrous gamble on the GE which has resulted in her having to cosy up to the DUPs hardly speaks of competence.  

[champers]

Begorrah!!!

[NanLaew]

29 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

Tell me again why Sturgeon is inadequate? Majority of MPs in Westminster, control of Holyrood - again.

Never mind partisanship or tabloid sniping. Stop being parochial and try reality.

 

Does a +37% loss of their majority in Westminster raise any circumspect Scottish eyebrows? Any other party leader presiding over such a debacle would be resigning before being asked to. Even Wee Eck who raised and nurtured her for years before his own damp squib failed to ignite was turfed out of Westminster along with the Deputy Leader of the party. I know us Scots are famous for our stoic, "Wha's like us?" outlook and the 'Tartan Army' is famed for relishing the national footie teams global embarrassments but she completely and utterly missed the plot while blindly pursuing her IndyRef2 dreams. It's her mismanagement that has gifted the Tories the chance of making this odious deal with the DUP.

 

Holyrood: a wee hoose.... albeit an expensive one.

 

For the time being, Westminster is still the big hoose.

Edited June 27, 2017 by NanLaew

[RuamRudy]

3 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Never mind partisanship or tabloid sniping. Stop being parochial and try reality.

 

Does a +37% loss of their majority in Westminster raise any circumspect Scottish eyebrows? Any other part leader presiding over such a debacle would be resigning before being asked to. Even Wee Eck who raised and nurtured her for years before his own damp squib failed to ignite was turfed out of Westminster along with the Deputy Leader of the party. I know us Scots are famous for our stoic, "Wha's like us?" outlook and the 'Tartan Army' is famed for relishing the national footie teams global embarrassments but she completely and utterly missed the plot while blindly pursuing her IndyRef2 dreams. It's her mismanagement that has gifted the Tories the chance of making this odious deal with the DUP.

 

Holyrood: a wee hoose.... albeit an expensive one.

 

For the time being, Westminster is still the big hoose.

The propensity for a type of bitter Scots to castigate and decry their own countrymen always dismays me. As a country, we are plagued by those who revert to 'ah ken't yer faither' at the first sight of someone trying to make good. 

 

But to follow your theme, the SNP has more Scottish MPs than the other parties combined. TM, on the other hand, took her comfortable majority and turned it into a farcical testament to her seemingly infinite ineptitude. Should she not lead by example and tender her resignation immediately? 

 

It is incorrect to blame the SNP for the current British humiliation, I am afraid - rather, we are the laughing stock of the world because of the WATP crowd, who are always going to vote for a flag above their own country, but amply persuaded by the blatantly sectarian campaign of the Tories. Meanwhile Dugdale actively campaigned for the Tories in key tactical seats. Blame the sectarian bigots and SLab for the DUP. 

[Caps]

47 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

Did you actually mean to write that? I presume you understand that the Westminster you refer to is not a value generator in itself? 

 

Assuming that you meant that the UK as a whole, the attached chart is from the UK government's own data,

 

Note that Scotland is 4th in terms of contribution to the UK exchequer by region. Also note that this figure excludes oil and gas, which have, since the 1970s, produced more than 330 billion pounds to the UK exchequer. Not that I would grudge that if it hadn't been used to prop up a selfish culture of tory greed and British decline.

whats wrong with that?  Scotland should pay a lot as it will go towards the rest of the country paying for the free prescription and college/uni fees you benefit from and no one south of the border gets.  You  can't have it all ways

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Prime Minister Theresa May struck a deal on Monday to prop up her minority government by agreeing to at least 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in extra funding for Northern Ireland in return for the support of the province's biggest Protestant party.

Where do these funds come from?

Expected savings from Brexit, new taxes, cut in government operating costs like healthcare, etc. Financial details seem missing during the May regime.

[RuamRudy]

4 minutes ago, Caps said:

whats wrong with that?  Scotland should pay a lot as it will go towards the rest of the country paying for the free prescription and college/uni fees you benefit from and no one south of the border gets.  You  can't have it all ways

No, your understanding is not correct. Scotland has a block grant with which it spends as it chooses. It chooses to spend money on certain areas and not on others. That the English chose not to have a devolved administration, and subsequently chose a government who does not see fit to help its people with things like college fees or prescription costs is not the fault of the Scots. England could have these things too if it wanted them. 

[RuamRudy]

2 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Where do these funds come from?

Expected savings from Brexit, new taxes, cut in government operating costs like healthcare, etc. Financial details seem missing during the May regime.

Maybe she read it on the side of a bus?

[Caps]

1 minute ago, RuamRudy said:

No, your understanding is not correct. Scotland has a block grant with which it spends as it chooses. It chooses to spend money on certain areas and not on others. That the English chose not to have a devolved administration, and subsequently chose a government who does not see fit to help its people with things like college fees or prescription costs is not the fault of the Scots. England could have these things too if it wanted them. 

does that go towards paying for the billions in deficit scotland has or is that why scots have on average about 1500 quid more spent on them per person by the government, per year?

[RuamRudy]

26 minutes ago, Caps said:

does that go towards paying for the billions in deficit scotland has or is that why scots have on average about 1500 quid more spent on them per person by the government, per year?

What is the deficit? If you can tell us with certainty, you will be in a very exclusive club of 1. 

 

As for the Barnett formula, it was devised to ensure parity of services across all areas of the UK, regardless of the cost of supplying those services. Would you prefer that we ignore those in more  sparsely populated, remote areas simply because the cost of provision was disproportionately high?

 

 

[Caps]

10 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

What is the deficit? If you can tell us with certainty, you will be in a very exclusive club of 1. 

 

As for the Barnett formula, it was devised to ensure parity of services across all areas of the UK, regardless of the cost of supplying those services. Would you prefer that we ignore those in more  sparsely populated, remote areas simply because the cost of provision was disproportionately high?

 

 

just saying.....you get more so you pay, there nowt unfair about that!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/24/scottish-finances-worsen-fall-oil-revenues-15bn-deficit

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/16/scotland-cannot-afford-to-ignore-its-deficit

[RuamRudy]

1 minute ago, Caps said:

just saying.....you get more so you pay, there nowt unfair about that!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/24/scottish-finances-worsen-fall-oil-revenues-15bn-deficit

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/16/scotland-cannot-afford-to-ignore-its-deficit

This has been trumpeted in most national newspapers (coincidentally, the unionist ones) but is completely misleading. Scotland does not have a deficit - how could it? There is no central bank, so from whom does it borrow money to run up a deficit?

 

What these articles are designed to do is to scare the populous into thinking along the same lines as you - that we are uniquely incapable of managing our own finances. The fact is, however, that (1) there is only a general understanding of how much the various regions of the UK contribute to the exchequer; (2) the death of the North Sea has been very exaggerated. 

 

I repeat what I stated in the initial post - Scotland, like every other contributing region, has to pay to the government to give to the DUP to allow an incompetent PM to cling on to power; there will be no reflective return from Westminster, whether you live in Whalsay or Wallsend. 

[Caps]

6 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

This has been trumpeted in most national newspapers (coincidentally, the unionist ones) but is completely misleading. Scotland does not have a deficit - how could it? There is no central bank, so from whom does it borrow money to run up a deficit?

 

What these articles are designed to do is to scare the populous into thinking along the same lines as you - that we are uniquely incapable of managing our own finances. The fact is, however, that (1) there is only a general understanding of how much the various regions of the UK contribute to the exchequer; (2) the death of the North Sea has been very exaggerated. 

 

I repeat what I stated in the initial post - Scotland, like every other contributing region, has to pay to the government to give to the DUP to allow an incompetent PM to cling on to power; there will be no reflective return from Westminster, whether you live in Whalsay or Wallsend. 

I aint scared fella,  and I hope you get the independence, but it aint going to be a walk in the park.

Crack on 

 

Edited June 27, 2017 by Caps

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, RuamRudy said:

The propensity for a type of bitter Scots to castigate and decry their own countrymen always dismays me. As a country, we are plagued by those who revert to 'ah ken't yer faither' at the first sight of someone trying to make good. 

 

But to follow your theme, the SNP has more Scottish MPs than the other parties combined. TM, on the other hand, took her comfortable majority and turned it into a farcical testament to her seemingly infinite ineptitude. Should she not lead by example and tender her resignation immediately? 

 

It is incorrect to blame the SNP for the current British humiliation, I am afraid - rather, we are the laughing stock of the world because of the WATP crowd, who are always going to vote for a flag above their own country, but amply persuaded by the blatantly sectarian campaign of the Tories. Meanwhile Dugdale actively campaigned for the Tories in key tactical seats. Blame the sectarian bigots and SLab for the DUP. 

Bitter? I am simply dismayed by countrymen that see a much diminished footprint in national government as some sort of win. They accept what is for all intents and purposes an abject failure as some sort of prize. Big fish in a wee pond syndrome? It is all mediocre, mealy-mouthed, self-congratulatory leadership spawned of Alex Salmond. This endless recycling of government statistics that simply confirm how important Scotland is to the finances of the nation does exactly what now? If Scotland has such great fiscal leverage and clout (and I believe it does), why did they waste it on fanciful whims about independence when it could have been much better served in negotiating a greater, more productive, practical and ultimately much more rewarding devolvement of real power within the Union that is headed towards independence from the EU?

 

Don't get me wrong. I am not a Tory (my first-time, from-the-heart vote helped a Labour candidate who considers the same things important as I do retain her seat) and my original post cast both Sturgeon AND May as less than adequate leaders of individually fractious and undesirable political parties. But neither of them can see past their own noses at the moment. May is in terminal decline and this deal with the DUP won't save her hide from the long knives within. Unfortunately, with Salmond and Robertson both 'unemployed' what hope is there for any SNP resurgence? They've had their time in the sun and blew it all over breaking up the Union and "Scotlands Oil". The same gobshite inattention to detail that caused them to implode 40-odd years ago.

 

Why did SNP lose votes in Scotland? Because of the 'blatantly sectarian' campaigning of the Tories? Or the 'tactical voting' of Scottish Labour? No. The Scottish voter were fed up to the teeth with IndyRef2 and the paltry excuse that the shock results of Brexit vote 'mandates I ask the people' to paraphrase Sturgeon's lame excuse for pursuing the impossible. She suggests she wouldn't be doing the job of First Minister properly if she didn't ask the people.... but did she ask the Scottish voter? No, she asked Scottish Parliament where she handily had a majority and passed it off as an endorsement to "Play it again Sam." Why did she waste time getting a Scottish Parliament stamp? Because she knew that south of the border, she wouldn't get any more bandwidth than she deserves, which isn't a lot. Brexit is the all-consuming business of the day, not 'Freedummmmmmm!"

 

I would suggest a September election is a broad possibility. What do you think Sturgeon and the party she leads should be focusing on beyond calling the Tory/DUP deal grubby and desperate?

Edited June 27, 2017 by NanLaew

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, RuamRudy said:

Maybe she read it on the side of a bus?

Good one.

 

I wonder where that bus is now? Probably the same place as Milliband's "ed stone"

[RuamRudy]

6 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Bitter? I am simply dismayed by countrymen that see a much diminished footprint in national government as some sort of win. They accept what is for all intents and purposes an abject failure as some sort of prize. Big fish in a wee pond syndrome? It is all mediocre, mealy-mouthed, self-congratulatory leadership spawned of Alex Salmond. This endless recycling of government statistics that simply confirm how important Scotland is to the finances of the nation does exactly what now? If Scotland has such great fiscal leverage and clout (and I believe it does), why did they waste it on fanciful whims about independence when it could have been much better served in creating a greater, more productive, practical and ultimately much more rewarding devolvement of real power within the Union that is headed towards independence from the EU?

 

Don't get me wrong. I am not a Tory (my first-time, from-the-heart vote helped a Labour candidate who considers the same things important as I do retain her seat) and my original post cast both Sturgeon AND May as less than adequate leaders of individually fractious and undesirable political parties. But neither of them can see past their own noses at the moment. May is in terminal decline and this deal with the DUP won't save her hide from the long knives within. Unfortunately, with Salmond and Robertson both 'unemployed' what hope is there for any SNP resurgence? They've had their time in the sun and blew it all over breaking up the Union and "Scotlands Oil". The same gobshite inattention to detail that caused them to implode 40-odd years ago.

 

Why did SNP lose votes in Scotland? Because of the 'blatantly sectarian' campaigning of the Tories? Or the 'tactical voting' of Scottish Labour? No. The Scottish voter were fed up to the teeth with IndyRef2 and the paltry excuse that the shock results of Brexit vote 'mandates I ask the people' to paraphrase Sturgeon's lame excuse for pursuing the impossible. She suggests she wouldn't be doing the job of First Minister properly if she didn't ask the people.... but did she ask the Scottish voter? No, she asked Scottish Parliament where she handily had a majority and passed it off as an endorsement to "Play it again Sam." Why did she waste time getting a Scottish Parliament stamp? Because she knew that south of the border, she wouldn't get any more bandwidth than she deserves, which isn't a lot. Brexit is the all-consuming business of the day, not 'Freedummmmmmm!"

 

I would suggest a September election is a broad possibility. What do you think Sturgeon and the party she leads should be focusing on beyond calling the Tory/DUP deal grubby and desperate?

Freedom from EU is good / freedom from the UK is bad? Well, we need to accept that we both see things in very opposite light. As a significant majority of Scots expressed their support of the EU, I fail to see why NS should not acknowledge that and pursue any and all options for keeping Scotland in the EU. 

 

What should NS focus on when the inevitable happens? I think she should highlight the mess that is Westminster and the UK electoral system; the gross inequality and unfairness it presents to Scots as well as the other home nations. I think she should also continue to demonstrate competence and strength in leadership (and yes, I mean that sincerely - don't believe what you read in the MSM). 

 

As for the folly that is Brexit, David Davies is doing enough to show us Scots what a slow motion disaster that actually is. That will surely help?

[NanLaew]

43 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

As a significant majority of Scots expressed their support of the EU, I fail to see why NS should not acknowledge that and pursue any and all options for keeping Scotland in the EU. 

Even when she was told very, very early in the post- Brexit play that there was neither a fast-track or long-term option for Scotland to stay in the EU? It was you leave the EU with the rest of the UK bus and good luck and then take a number and apply to join (not re-join) later. She was hiding her independence light under the EU bushel.

 

47 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

I think she should highlight the mess that is Westminster and the UK electoral system; the gross inequality and unfairness it presents to Scots as well as the other home nations.

Pity she hadn't made that #1 priority before because I think we can agree, Scotland does punch above its weight in that Westminster would have more to lose by not earnestly negotiating better deals with the home nations. What sort of rapport does he have with Plaid Cymru?

 

Note: Don't give up hope. I don't believe ALL I read in the MSM.

[Dave67]

Heard this tonight from a member of Conservative party who strangly enough posts on the same West Ham Forum as me. I think he is a volunteer for campaigns ect and hears all the latest rumours. Apparenty May wants to go but they won't let her go as they have no viable replacement for her and it would probably mean another election what could be won by Labour. If you noticed she did not sign DUP deal, the chief whip did, this is so when she goes there will be no need to strike a new deal with DUP and leave the Tories with a slim majority.

 

Seems to make sense , because May if she had any decency would have resigned by now. As Osbourne called her dead Woman walking

[rockingrobin]

3 hours ago, Dave67 said:

Heard this tonight from a member of Conservative party who strangly enough posts on the same West Ham Forum as me. I think he is a volunteer for campaigns ect and hears all the latest rumours. Apparenty May wants to go but they won't let her go as they have no viable replacement for her and it would probably mean another election what could be won by Labour. If you noticed she did not sign DUP deal, the chief whip did, this is so when she goes there will be no need to strike a new deal with DUP and leave the Tories with a slim majority.

 

Seems to make sense , because May if she had any decency would have resigned by now. As Osbourne called her dead Woman walking

I see David Davis saying the reason for the poor election result was due to a poorly run campaign , even though he was one of the main protagonists calling for the early election

[tonbridgebrit]

DUP. You left home over three hundred years ago, and you still think you're British ??

And Theresa May, why are you talking to the DUP as if they are British ?  Sinn Fein are a bunch of Irish blokes, DUP are actually just as Irish as Sinn Fein. Why reckon that Ian Paisley's boys are any different to Gerry's boys ?  They are, after all, a load of Irish people. 

And if you are American, you're not going to know, who is Ian Paisley. Ian Paisley founded the DUP.