How much does loyalty cost? About £9bn

WHILE the DUP holds the balance of power in Westminster, other MPs ponder a cost-benefit analysis to their loyalty.

Former Tory MP and columnist Matthew Parris, pictured, wrote last week: ‘Northern Ireland costs the UK taxpayers more than the European Union.

‘The figures I have suggest that our net annual contribution to the province (what we pay minus what we get back) is £9.30bn.

‘The figure for the EU is £8.6bn.’

But before republicans call for a chorus of A Nation Once Again, they should note that the same level of subvention for an Irish government would be €10.44bn.

That’s the third most expensive item in the budget – roughly the same as servicing our national debt and a billion more than we spend on education.