Bitesized Blighty: June 30, 2017
- The Conservative Party reached a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party to back Theresa May’s minority government. The DUP secured an extra £1 billion for Northern Ireland over the next year. The PM hopes this agreement will offer stability as the UK government enters the Brexit process.
- On Thursday, the decades-long struggle to give women in Northern Ireland access to terminations on the NHS elsewhere in the UK was unexpectedly won. The government changed its policy in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of rebellion over the Queen’s speech. Northern Ireland has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe and women are currently charged about £900 for a termination if they travel to have the procedure in mainland Britain.
- British households are saving less than ever before amid the longest period of falling real household incomes in forty years. Household spending growth slowed amid higher inflation, although the data also suggested growth was likely to pick up in the second quarter of this year.
