Theresa May Strikes Billion Dollar Deal To Remain In Power

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By Jacob Bojesson

The British Conservatives reached a deal Monday with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a minority government.

Prime Minister Theresa May and the Conservatives needed backing from at least nine members of parliament to reach a majority. DUP, a conservative Northern Irish party, will give them an effective majority of 13 in key votes.

DUP managed to negotiate 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion) in extra funding to Northern Ireland over the next two years. It also got the Conservatives to scrap a number of issues from their manifesto.

“We share many values in terms of wanting to see prosperity across the U.K., the value of the union, the important bond between the different parts of the U.K.,” May said at a press briefing after finalizing the pact. “We very much want to see that protected and enhanced and we also share the desire to ensure a strong government, able to put through its program and provide for issues like the Brexit negotiations, but also national security issues.”

Carwyn Jones, the first minister of Wales, called the deal “unacceptable” for favoring Northern Ireland over other regions in the U.K.

“Today’s deal represents a straight bung to keep a weak prime minister and a faltering government in office,” Jones told the Guardian. “This deal flies in the face of that commitment and further weakens the UK, and as currently drafted all but kills the idea of fair funding for the nations and regions.”

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