Brexit threatened as DUP warns May to ‘keep her side of the bargain’

The Democratic Unionist party (DUP), whose 10 politicians prop up the Conservative party in government, abstained from votes on key budget measures, sending a warning to prime minister Theresa May to keep her side of the Brexit bargain.

In protest at the Brexit deal agreed with European Union negotiators last week, the DUP on Monday night decided not to vote on a series of amendments to the finance bill, and went so far as to support an amendment introduced by Labour, in order to send a “political message” to May.

May was accused of breaking promises to the UK and to the people of Northern Ireland, leaving the DUP less obliged to uphold the “confidence and supply” agreement that sees the party support May in the House of Commons, explained DUP Brexit spokesperson Sammy Wilson speaking on BBC Newsnight.

The DUP’s support for May in the House of Commons became necessary following the reduction in the Conservative party’s majority after the 2017 snap general election.

While the moves put May’s Brexit deal under threat, they also raise questions about how long her government can last, considering her majority was reduced to just five votes.

Even though the backstop within the latest Brexit agreement is UK-wide, the DUP considers some of the plan’s specific provisions as having the potential to “separate” Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

“We had to do something to show our displeasure,” Wilson said. The DUP’s actions “were designed to send a message to the government.

“Look, we have got an agreement with you but you have got to keep your side of the bargain otherwise we don’t feel obliged to keep ours.”

Wilson suggested that May’s Brexit deal amounted to a breach of the “fundamental” assurance that Northern Ireland would not be treated differently in either a constitutional or economic sense.

The party has long been opposed to any proposals that could require Northern Ireland to be more closely aligned with the EU’s customs and trade rules than the rest of the UK.