Or am I thick? Surely it can't be legal

[PolaDeVeboise]

To use OUR money to 'buy' a majority to push through your manifesto (edited version or no)?

In my line of work, we have to undergo training on the bribery act, take a test and sign forms to say we will not offer bribes, give any hint of a bribe or accept a bribe, declare anything that is offered - even a biro pen.

I don't see any way that what Teresa May has done is not a bribe. She has bribed them with her magic money tree. I'd have had more respect for her if she'd followed the wish of the electorate and ran a minority government that listened and negotiated to all parties and had cross-party consultation and agreements e.g. Brexit.

She is a desperate woman, who has bought herself some support to stay in her role as PM for a bit (again, bribe).

Britain was always supposed to be neutral in Northern Ireland, supporting neither Unionists or Nationalists. Theresa doesn't give a frig about the Good Friday Agreement, so long as she clings on to power. Again, people from all sides of the political spectrum e.g. Jonathan Powell (N.Ire advisor in the 90s and 00's) John Major and Michael Portillo all said it was a bad idea to use the DUP in this way, especially given the disbanding of the power-sharing assembly.

And yes as PP said, the £ will probably be used to fill the ash for cash black hole, so probably the people of Northern Ireland won't see it anyway. Disgraceful.

Theresa just seems blinkered and her dogged determination to just press ahead, to hell with consequences is a bit unnerving.

YABU and thick (using your words). Do you honestly think it was illegal someone with a lot more knowledge would have pointed it out by now or does the judicial system rely on MN for advice these days?

You do know Labour has twice tried to strike a deal with DUP in the past don't you?

'a bit unnerving'

It's hideous.

I keep hoping I may wake up in the morning and something will have changed!

Did I see that Queen Brenda has just got a £6mil payrise too? Tough luck for the NHS, schools etc etc. It all feels so wrong and I feel completely powerless to do anything about it.

Do you honestly think it was illegal someone with a lot more knowledge would have pointed it out by now or does the judicial system rely on MN for advice these days?

Err - like when TM thought she had a right to trigger Art 50 without referring back to Parliament, you mean? I'm sure Gina Miller, or someone like her, will be along shortly . . .

Corbyn tried it with the electorate offering lots of giveaways. This deal cost about £50 billion less so is a bargain.

This seems to be the only justification that the Tories ever come up with, the Labour party were worse, now it is an imagined Jeremy Corbyn would have done worse.

It is sad that the Tories cannot justify their actions with a more coherent argument, such as it is for the good of the country, it is perfectly sound, etc.

As someone originally from N. Ireland I am delighted that they will have such an investment in the NHS, but as this is totally against the GFA, it could be a major disaster. But hell, the Labour party would have done worse, so who cares.

Plenty of knowledgeable people posting here Leap... they are not the ones sounding thick.

I don't know why on a conservative challenging thread someone always comes along to bash corbyn.
I can't speak for OP but personally I'd find it wrong for it to happen no matter which parties are involved,
Also OP may not even be a corbyn voter.
It'd be like going on a Kate Middleton thread and saying "but I detest Kelly Clarkson!"

The difference is that the labour party's manifesto is full of spending so spending money on Scotland to get the SNP's support would have been his plan anyway. We would all be getting more spending under a labour government anyway.

This government has told people for years that there's no money, they are not spending, they're cutting everything and now magically they've found £1bn in direct contravention of their own manifesto as a sweetener to get NI politicians on side. It is pure hypocrisy in the face of the rest of their manifesto.

They may not get the Money themselves, but they will get more votes for having negotiated the deal and procured the people of NI more money.

This government has told people for years that there's no money,
Quite - Theresa May told a nurse curtly that there was no magic money tree - and suddenly they discover one. But they don't share its crop around the UK, just buying the votes of one section of one country.

Of course it's legal. There is a legal challenge, but it's about the fact that this is an a NI party rather than the bung itself. If it were eg the SNP there'd be no issue.

Your chance to respond is the next GE. I don't suppose it will be too long.

It may be legal but I don't think it is ethical.

Thanks for being forthright ALeap, however, from what others have said, I wouldn't be too sure of that! Also, I don't give a fiddlers fuck what party made THIS deal, to my mind, it's still wrong and should be illegal (if it's not, in fact, proven to be).

Thanks Seagulls