DUP give a politics masterclass - May pays £1bn price for power

If politics is the art of the possible then the Democratic Unionist Party have delivered a masterclass — one even their Sinn Féin rivals must applaud if its naked opportunism does not offend their high-minded sense of propriety.

The DUP has maximised its value as kingmaker to secure an additional £1bn — €1.14bn — for Northern Ireland from the British exchequer.

Northern Ireland, even before this cling-to-power brown envelope passed hands, got something north of £17bn — almost €20bn — from the London exchequer last year making it one of the most heavily subsidised regions of the United Kingdom.