The DUP have agreed to support Theresa May without forming a coalition. Their 10 MPs take the Conservatives over the 326 seat line to form a government by 2 seats.
But how do their views compare across key issues?
Through the general election campaign we analysed all the main party manifestos, and have add the DUP to this list.
The DUP manifesto focuses mostly on issues important to Northern Ireland and maintaining Unionism, so there are only a handful of policies that can be cross-referenced against the other parties. We’ve broken these down below. However, this may give a false impression of the politics involved, at least in how Represent as a tool can provide them. Broadly, the DUP are supportive of the Conservatives, or to give the party it’s full name, the Conservative and Unionist Party.
Overall the DUP want greater security, lower taxes, and to promote the Northern Ireland economy, identity and region. But as the table shows, there are some unexpected differences. Most notably the DUP are for keeping the triple lock on pensions and for keeping universal benefits such as winter fuel allowance. Whilst they voted to Leave the EU last year, they would like a soft Brexit.
However, when you order the full list of issues by what the Conservatives most strongly agree on, you begin to see why the new government is on a knife edge. There are a number of issues in which all the parties agree, including mental health, the gender pay gap and – importantly for Northern Ireland – the Common Travel Area. However, such agreements dissipate along right/left lines fairly quickly.
Please note that this list of issues does not include multiple choice questions.
Leave a Reply