DUP sees 'very good' chance of Tory deal after winning big concessions

The Conservatives and Democratic Unionists have a “very good” chance of reaching an agreement, a senior DUP MP has said, hinting that the Northern Irish party had won significant concessions as the price of a deal.

Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP’s chief whip at Westminster, said it was “nonsense” to claim the party was seeking an extra £2bn for Northern Ireland’s NHS and infrastructure projects.

However, he confirmed that a deal would see some more money going to Northern Ireland “across a range of issues” – including health, education and infrastructure.

Donaldson said the DUP had noticed a change in attitude after a deal was delayed before Wednesday’s Queen’s speech when the party said it would not be taken for granted and that talks had not “proceeded in the way we would have expected”.

Asked whether the DUP had been impressed with Theresa May’s approach, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Actually, I think the prime minister is moving this process forwards. She’s engaged now, and we welcome that. I think since that has happened we have been moving forwards.”

The prospects of a deal, Donaldson said, were “very good”, adding “the sooner the better as far as we’re concerned”.

He indicated that his party was pleased with concessions given by May and her team: “We’ve been around negotiations for a long, long time and I say this about Ulstermen and Ulsterwomen – we’re no pushover.”

Asked how he could justify seeking more spending just for Northern Ireland as the price of propping up the government through a so-called confidence and supply deal, Donaldson argued this would be fair.

He said: “What we are asking for is recognition from the government that after 30 years of a very violent conflict in Northern Ireland, when the capital resources were spent on security, and understandably, on police stations, fortifications, military establishments, our infrastructure fell way behind the rest of the United Kingdom – our roads, our hospitals, our schools.

“So what we’re asking for is some help to make up that deficit in Northern Ireland.”

However, reports that the DUP was seeking £1bn for Northern Ireland’s health service and another £1bn for infrastructure were “absolutely way wide of the mark”, he said.

“Those figures would not recognise the fiscal reality in the United Kingdom today. We recognise the realities we’re dealing with,” Donaldson argued.

But he conceded any extra funding would benefit just Northern Ireland: “The reason for that is we want to bring Northern Ireland up to the same level as the rest of the UK. We believe that in a post-Brexit world, we want the rising tide to lift all the boats, and we want Northern Ireland to benefit from that.”

Asked whether the absence in the Queen’s speech of some austerity measures had been down to the DUP’s influence – the party opposes changes to pensioner benefits, among other things – Donaldson hinted this could be the case.

He said: “How tempting it would be to claim these things, but I’m more modest than that.” But when it was pointed out he was grinning broadly, Donaldson added: “If what we do benefits people across the United Kingdom then, as a unionist party, that’s something we’re proud of.”