Posted June 27, 2017 01:10:50

Photo: Theresa May may have signed a deal but her future remains uncertain. (Reuters: Stefan Wermuth)

So after 18 tortuous days, British Prime Minister Theresa May finally has a Government she can call her own — sort of.

A deal has been agreed and signed that gives her Conservative Party just enough votes in the House of Commons to pass legislation and stave off any no-confidence motion that the Labour Party is no doubt planning to throw at her sooner rather than later.

It's all thanks to the ten members of the Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has power way beyond its small numbers.

With the ink dry on an agreement that promises DUP support on all confidence, budget, money and supply bills, at least the Prime Minister has the beginnings of a government.

Not the strong, stable or reliable one she promised before the election. But at least she and her party are still standing — for the moment .

And the cost of this deal?

While the DUP says this is an agreement for all of Britain, the party has managed to extract a billion pounds in extra spending for Northern Ireland.

And Conservative plans to downgrade pensions and means-test winter fuel payments have been scrapped. All of which means the budget will have to be adjusted either by reduced spending somewhere or higher taxes.

The Democratic Unionist Party now holds the balance of power in the British parliament. So who are they?

That wasn't on the Government's agenda, but it may have to be .

And if the DUP can wring a billion or so out of Westminster, what about the other nations of the Kingdom?

What's in it for Wales, or Scotland? Nothing so far. And that has not gone unnoticed.

But the reality is a price was always going to be extracted given the needs of a minority government.

The bigger question is how long this deal can last.

Officially it's an arranged marriage of inconvenience for two years. After that, it's up for renegotiation.

Few would put good money on Ms May still being prime minister in 2019. Then again, few gave David Cameron's coalition with the Liberal Democrats much hope of longevity back in 2010, but it ran its five-year course.

As Malcolm Turnbull knows only too well, you deal with the hand voters grant you. It takes guile and patience to get bills through.

There is no doubt Ms May is feeling relieved after many days of negotiations. But she may find her tenure as prime minister is less assured than the DUP document just signed.

Topics: government-and-politics, world-politics, united-kingdom