Let’s be clear on context: we recently had a general election that has eviscerated this Tory Government. Its majority has been destroyed and Theresa May’s authority has been smashed. It is difficult to ever remember a campaign where a Prime Minister has sought to actively fight a campaign without meeting the public or answering any questions. It was bizarre to see the Tories run a presidential campaign where their prime candidate was too scared to even appear on ‘Women’s Hour’. Strong and stable turned to weak and wobbly as fast as jelly left out in the sun. We were told by the Tories that they were the ace negotiators needed for Brexit, yet it took a whole two weeks to secure the support of the Democratic Unionist Party. Two weeks to buy the votes of DUP Members of Parliament who, vote by vote, troop into the same lobbies as the Tory party anyway.

The First Minister called it fairly and squarely, and that is indeed that this is a £1 billion bung. Indeed, the Tory benches opposite like to lecture us on prudent bookkeeping, the merits of austerity and how you need to spend money wisely. So, let’s quote from today’s ‘The Times’ and see whether the Members opposite can justify the throwing of £1 billion of taxpayers’ money to Northern Ireland to just avoid facing the wrath of the British public at another general election. I quote,

‘Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that Northern Ireland already has the highest public expenditure per person but make the lowest tax contribution.’

No wonder then that, across the United Kingdom, from Glastonbury to the SSE Swalec stadium on Sunday, crowds sang Jeremy Corbyn’s name. The abiding principle of the Labour Party, for the many and not the few, has now become a patriotic call to arms.

So, where will and where does this Tory buy-out end? And I repeat my question: does anybody seriously think that the DUP will not be back for more? All of this outside of the DUP’s horrific record, as has been mentioned, on equality, abortion, climate change and a Victorian attitude to gay rights.

We all know that the Prime Minister is, as George Osborne memorably stated ‘a dead woman walking’. A dead woman walking and a zombie Government. Indeed, the paralysis in Downing Street is so bad that speculation has centred on the Chancellor becoming a caretaker Prime Minister, and let us not forget that ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ was due his P45 before the Prime Minister suffered such a derisory election result. How can this hollow shadow of a Prime Minister stand up to those canny and very experienced negotiators of the DUP? As I said, Sir Nicholas Macpherson, the former head of the Treasury, who stood down as Permanent Secretary last year, said,

‘£1 billion for Ulster is just a downpayment. DUP will be back for more...again and again... They have previous in such matters.’

This Tory-DUP supply and confidence agreement is truly shocking, and in my view, an epitaph to this Tory Government. In fact, Bruce Reynolds and Ronnie Biggs would have been proud of this smash-and-grab raid that has been undertaken on the UK Treasury, but it is sadly Wales who is the victim of this great political robbery. First Minister, I know you will not stint or falter in your efforts to stand up for Wales and stand up for our Welsh citizens. It is right that any funding that goes to Northern Ireland should mean Wales does get its fair share under the Barnett formula, and it is true that the people of Wales are sick of the Tories lecturing us that there is no alternative to austerity. So, I call on the leader of the Welsh Conservatives to denounce the Prime Minister’s discovery of the magic money tree, which showers gold to save itself, but delivers dead leaves for those in poverty. Theresa May, we know, is no friend of the leader of the Welsh Tories, but she certainly, certainly, is no friend of the people of Wales.