Speaking after the DUP signed a “confidence and supply agreement” with the Tories, Gerry Carroll MLA stated “The agreement between the DUP and Tories shows the utter contempt the Conservative Party has for people.
Since 2010, the Tories have consistently told us that there was no money, that austerity had to be implemented.
“Now, with Theresa May’s government under threat, they have suddenly found £1 billion to shore up their government. Where was this money when wages were being froze, benefits were being cut and jobs were disappearing? The Tories care about no one but themselves and the class of millionaires they represent.
“The DUP will claim they have agreed a good deal for the North. But the question is this; who in the North will benefit from this money? Will this £1billion be divvied up through the same sectarian and corrupt system that brought us Sif, Nama and Rhi? Can we expect, therefore, that it will be the friends of the DUP, and those community grandees who twilight as paramilitary commanders, that will be the real beneficiaries of this money?
“People Before Profit will be demanding that any cash injection goes to those that need it most, in a fair and transparent manner, rather than being another ‘jobs for the boys’ carve up between the big parties. Trade unions and campaigners should be demanding the same. The DUP cannot be trusted with anybody’s money, and nor can the Tories.
“Theresa May claims her government remains impartial with regards to the North. But she now relies on the support of a party who are anything but. This should come as no surprise. The links between unionism and the Tories run deep. Her party have never been neutral with regards to the North. Her comments about the prosecution of state forces and her blasé attitude to the victims of state violence would suggest that this remains the same today.
“Every time the DUP utter some sexist, homophobic or sectarian outrage, then Theresa May must be asked is this the party she calls her friends. But we should equally ask of the DUP; how does their relationship with the Tories benefit the hard pressed working class areas they claim to represent?
“Arlene Foster has agreed to support future Tory budgets. But nobody knows the content of these budgets, or how hard they will hit people here. The second the Tory party begin to attack working class people, which they invariably will, then we should expose the DUP for letting it happen.
“The DUP are propping up an extremely weak Tory government. Now is not the time to be propping up the DUP at Stormont. An Irish language act, equal marriage and a woman’s right to choose has still not been implemented. And the economic agenda being proposed—revolving around a programme of tax cuts for corporations—will only further the Tory agenda, and worsen austerity in the public sector. We should refuse to play the Tories and the DUP at their game. Instead we should take to the streets to bring this rotten government down.
“The first step is to join Saturdays march in Belfast for equal marriage.”