Theresa May has just been savaged for doing exactly what the media attacked Corbyn for [VIDEO]

Theresa May’s planned ‘confidence and supply’ governmental deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has received widespread condemnation. But nowhere more strongly than in one, scathing video. And while much of the mainstream media said if Labour won the general election, Jeremy Corbyn would take us back to the 1970s, May stands accused of taking us back further: to the 1870s.

“Desperate and dirty”

Peter Stefanovic is becoming well known on social media. He is getting a reputation for producing video shorts that cut through mainstream media bias; ones that tell the viewer the whole story on political and social issues. And in his latest video, he pulls no punches when it comes to May’s planned deal with the DUP:

A coalition already in chaos

As of Sunday 11 June, the PM’s “desperate and dirty” deal with the DUP looked in serious doubt. The Northern Irish party had come out and said that no agreement had yet been made. Its leader Arlene Foster said:

discussions will continue next week to work on the details and to reach agreement on arrangements for the new parliament…

Downing Street had to quickly issue a statement in response. It said May will be:

finalising a confidence and supply deal when parliament returns next week… As and when details are finalised, both parties will put them forward.

But as The Canary previously reported, the DUP is mired in controversy. It has:

• Blocked same-sex marriage.
• Opposed the 1977 decriminalisation of homosexuality.
• Maintained it wants to keep the ban on abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.
• Links to Loyalist paramilitary groups.

A history of social violence

As Stefanovic pointed out, May could well be taking us back to Victorian times if a confidence and supply deal with the DUP is reached. But, under the previous two Conservative-led government, the UK was heading in that direction anyway. Because thanks to the Tories:

• 400,000 children are now living in poverty, a figure which rose 100,000 in 2015/16. 67% of those are from working families.
• Food bank usage has risen, with over half a million people reliant [paywall] on just the Trussell Trust for food packages in a six month period.
• In two reports, the UN heavily criticised the Tories for “grave” and “systematic” violations of disabled people’s human rights. The government, meanwhile, has severely cut their benefits.
• The past year has seen strikes by junior doctors, rail workers, teaching assistants, library workers, and other public sector staff. Their pay increases have mostly been capped [paywall] at 1%.
• National debt had increased by more than 50% as of 2015.
• Homelessness had risen by 54% as of 2016.
• Corporations have seen tax cuts [pdf] while the tax gap is reportedly around £120bn per year.
• The NHS has seen a real terms cut in the amount of money given to it per patient. While the amount of NHS money paid to ‘independent’ companies had more than doubled to £8bn a year by 2016.
• The government has cut the number of people getting social care by 26%. And it has cut the equivalent of £50m from children’s mental health services.
• House building has fallen to its lowest levels since the 1920s.

We have a problem

Opposition to May’s DUP deal has been vocal; not least from MPs within her own party. And with the seemingly false-footed start to the arrangement, it may well not last. If it even gets off the ground at all. But let’s be extremely clear. A Conservative/DUP deal would indeed be one of the most regressive governments in modern, Western history. But any Tory government is going to inflict another five years of misery on the poorest and most vulnerable in society. So, yes – people need to be opposing May’s plans. But the left as a collective also needs to be working out its strategy for the foreseeable future, now. Because the threat from another Conservative government, regardless of who it shacks up with, is by far the greater enemy.

Get Involved!

– Make your thoughts on the deal known. Contact your MP and be vocal on social media.

– Join The Canary, so we can keep bring you the news that matters.

Featured image via YouTube