DUP vote against budget one big risk
Sir — The DUP has threatened to vote against Theresa May’s budget later this month, should she agree to any EU proposal that would treat Northern Ireland differently to the rest of the UK. Should the DUP carry out this threat, it will surely be paradoxical that the biggest beneficiary of its strategy could well be Sinn Fein.
For such a move by the DUP would inevitably collapse the Tory government and lead to a general election that could well result in a momentum-dominated leftist Labour government — one led by a man who has made repeated calls, both before and after he was elected Labour leader, for a United Ireland. Such a government would likely be much less supportive of retaining the UK’s traditional link with Northern Ireland than the Conservatives are.
The DUP should also be extremely careful for what it wishes for another good reason. If their action scuppers the chance of reaching a good Brexit deal and this leads to the expected downturn and chaos in the UK’s economy, as well as much unemployment in cities and towns across all of the UK; the DUP will no doubt receive widespread blame and opprobrium for having selfishly placed its own local political interests and goals ahead of the economic interests of the rest of the UK.
Such a DUP action is bound to persuade many in the UK to question the continued usefulness of the Northern Ireland-UK link. And with a Labour government in power led by a leader and others having republican sympathies, there would likely be some serious moves made by it to weaken and eventual dissolve that link, moves that would undoubtedly be supported by a British public angry with the DUP.
Thus, Sinn Fein, even in its wildest dreams, surely could never have imagined that the DUP would one day adopt the strategy of threatening to bring down the UK government, a strategy that may well help in the end bring about a United Ireland sooner than expected.
Yes, Sinn Fein could be forgiven for believing that Christmas has come early.
Ivor Shorts, Rathfarnham,
Dublin