Conservatives strike deal with the DUP: experts react
Dr Stuart McAnulla, Associate Professor in Politics has spoken to The Conversation about the Conservative/DUP deal.
Dr McAnulla suggests the money involved in this deal is less likely to worry the Conservatives than the political cost of having to make a deal to reach a slim majority.
Commenting on the financial implications of a £1 billion deal, Stuart believes that “having attacked Labour for offering endless funds from a “magic money tree”, the Conservatives will now be asked why money can seemingly be quickly found when it is politically expedient for them.”
He highlighted too, that not all Conservatives were on board with this deal with “former Prime Minister John Major warning it could destabilise the Northern Ireland peace process, whilst others argued the Conservatives could have governed as a minority without a formal deal, as the DUP would have been unlikely to vote against them”.
Stuart then discussed how the deal has clear benefits for the Conservatives, in particular with DUP backing guaranteed on Brexit and security issues which offers May the possibility of leading Britain through Brexit. However he reminded the reader that in the short-to-medium term this arrangement will also give ammunition to Theresa May’s opponents inside and outside the Conservative party.
