Theresa May Accused Of Shaking The 'Magic Money Tree' Over £1 Billion DUP Deal

'No magic money tree for nurses... but an entire orchard appears when the Tories want something.'
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Theresa May’s £1 billion deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has prompted incredulity that the prime minister has conveniently found a “magic money tree” to prop up her minority government.

May met with DUP leader Arlene Foster this morning to finalise the pact, agreeing to spend an extra £1 billion on Northern Ireland over the next two years while also offering “new flexibilities” for £500 million of previously committed funding.

“This agreement will operate to deliver a stable government in the United Kingdom’s national interest at this vital time,” Foster told journalists outside Number 10.

Theresa May agreed to spend an extra £1 billion in Northern Ireland in a deal with the DUP
Theresa May agreed to spend an extra £1 billion in Northern Ireland in a deal with the DUP
PA Wire/PA Images

But many unconvinced voters have pointed out that the agreement comes in the same month May rebuffed an NHS nurse who asked why she and her colleagues had not had a pay rise since 2009.

Speaking on BBC’s Question Time ahead of the election, May told the woman: “I’m being honest with you in terms of saying that we will put more money into the NHS, but there isn’t a magic money tree that we can shake that suddenly provides for everything that people want.”

May rebuffed a nurse earlier this month when asked why she and other NHS workers had waited so long for a pay rise
May rebuffed a nurse earlier this month when asked why she and other NHS workers had waited so long for a pay rise
BBC

“Oh look! Looks like Theresa May found the magic money tree after all! ” one man tweeted this afternoon after hearing news of the DUP deal.

Another added: “Tories tell nurses there is no magic money tree to pay them properly while giving DUP £1 billion so they can cling to power.”

The announcement has also garnered huge anger from Labour MPs and left-wing activists, many of whom have used May’s own “magic money tree” phrase to mock the agreement:

Signed sealed&delivered, the £1 billion quid deal that props the Tories up, the magic money tree well and truly shaken for this "agreement"👎 pic.twitter.com/LcQqLTGkGd

— Angela Rayner MP (@AngelaRayner) June 26, 2017

And lo! The Tories did conjure up the magic money tree to shower gifts on their homophobic, anti-choice, climate change denying friends

— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) June 26, 2017

Theresa May to a nurse who hasn't had a pay rise in 8yrs: "there's no magic money tree"
May to DUP: Here's £1.5 billion so I can keep my job

— Fiona Rutherford (@Fi_Rutherford) June 26, 2017

Looks like the Tories have found the Magic Money Tree*

*offer only available in Northern Ireland.

— EL4C (@EL4JC) June 26, 2017

When you finally find that magic money tree... pic.twitter.com/OBYHlUL7R3

— JOE.co.uk (@JOE_co_uk) June 26, 2017

May to nurses, "There's no Magic Money Tree." May to the DUP, "Come with me, and you'll see, a world of pure financial lubrication..."

— Christian DeFeo (@doctorcdf) June 26, 2017

That Magic Money Tree just dropped a billion quid into Arlene Foster's lap.

— Sue Perkins (@sueperkins) June 26, 2017

Looks like the Conservatives have found the Magic Money Tree in Northern Ireland.

— Philip Fowler (@philipfowler) June 26, 2017

No Magic Money Tree for nurses or disabled people. But an entire orchard suddenly appears when the Tories want something.

— Thomas H. (@THemingford) June 26, 2017

First Minister for Wales Carwyn Jones said the deal “all but kills the idea of fair funding” and “weakens the UK”, while the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the Prime Minister had “found a magic money tree” for a “grubby deal”.

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