DUP in major U-turn as party dumps threat to vote down Theresa May’s Budget over Brexit fears
2 min read
The DUP have ditched their threat to vote down the Budget over fears that the Government was preparing to sign a Brexit deal which would effectively draw a new border in the Irish Sea.
Sammy Wilson, the party's Brexit spokesman, confirmed they will stick to the terms of their confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives when the Finance Bill is voted on by MPs.
DUP leader Arlene Foster had previously warned Theresa May that she would instruct her MPs to scupper the Budget vote if Northern Ireland remained locked in the customs union and parts of the single market after the rest of the UK leaves the EU.
But Mr Wilson today said that voting against the Budget would be “reckless” without seeing the final terms of the Brexit deal, adding that Theresa May should be given “another chance” to meet his party's demands.
“We will be supporting the Government in the Budget vote on Thursday,” he told the Independent.
“It would be reckless for us, in the absence of a clear picture of where the Prime Minister is going on this, to simply vote against the Budget to teach her a lesson.”
The announcement will come as welcome relief to Mrs May who could have been toppled if her Budget - traditionally seen as a confidence vote in the government- had been defeated.
But Mr Wilson warned his party would still withdraw their support in other crunch votes if Mrs May strikes a deal with the EU which would require new regulatory checks on good passing between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
He told the BBC: “The government will need support on the Finance Bill, which implements the measures in the budget, when it comes to Universal Credit and whole lot of other domestic legislation.
“So they shouldn’t take for granted that just because they get the Budget passed that they can do whatever they want with Northern Ireland.”
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