The deal between the Conservative (and Unionist) Party and the DUP seems to me to be nothing short of a bribe, at taxpayers' expense, to keep a lame duck government in office.
That said, if there is one part of the UK I would not begrudge the money to for as much as a nanosecond, it is Northern Ireland. They have endured decades of unrelenting shit and to my mind it is no surprise whatsoever that improving economic conditions and the ending of the troubles were pretty much simultaneous events. God forbid we should ever return to those dark days, and if the silver lining to this dismal cloud is that this bung makes a return to the bad old days less likely, maybe some good will have come from this utter clusterfuck after all.
As for the DUP, I don't imagine this will be the last time they want a hand-out to keep the government propped up, and frankly I don't have a problem with them getting the best for the people of Northern Ireland and making hay while the sun shines. By the current deal they seem to have got back the money their own ineptitude cost the Northern Irish economy with something more for good measure. I can well imagine the power-sharing discussions will go much more smoothly now that the DUP have actually repaired the damage that cash for ash caused.
For the rest of us, this all stinks to high heaven, but again I don't begrudge the people of Northern Ireland a penny piece of the benefit this agreement will bring.
