Unionist opposition to the Brexit deal is completely reasonable
Backstop would inevitably damage links between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK
British prime minister Theresa May in a Commons debate shown on television in a Lisburn bar which has illustrations of May and DUP leader Arlene Foster on its front window. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
In the past 10 days, Theresa May fended off a potential Conservative leadership contest, swatted aside Labour’s attempts to subject her to a vote of confidence in parliament and forced Jeremy Corbyn to deny that he called her a “stupid woman”. Allied to improving popularity ratings, it almost looks like a mini-revival for the British prime minister.
Ultimately, though, none of these small victories improves the prospects of the House of Commons passing May’s Brexit deal, nor can they disguise the fact that her government’s survival is more than ever dependent on the DUP.