The Government’s deal with the DUP is done – but it has come at a price. The confidence and supply agreement – which falls short of a formal coalition but will be enough to keep Theresa May in power – will set the Government back £1bn. The deal spells out £200m for infrastructure, £75m for ultra-fast broadband, £100m over five years to tackle deprivation, £50m on health and education, £100m on health service reform and £50m on mental health funding in Northern Ireland. Despite the cost, though, there’ll be a big sigh of relief among the Conservatives that the deal (which you can read here) is now, finally, across the line. With a Queen’s Speech vote looming on Thursday, it was vital that an agreement was reached beforehand. The Tories could have survived this vote even without a deal having been reached. But it would not have looked good for a Government trying to get on with the job of governing still being embroiled in talks aimed at keeping them in office. There’ll
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