Propping up the Tories is increasingly hard to justify

It has suffered a number of setbacks.

The government has failed entirely to support the party against the vandalism of Sinn Fein keeping Stormont down until it gets an Irish language act.

The DUP has had to take the heat for MPs imposing same-sex marriage and radical abortion reform, which ultimately was a result of that Sinn Fein veto on Stormont.

Meanwhile, at this time of immense political pressure, the Ulster Unionist Party, many of whose members feel that they were destroyed by a DUP that then made as many concessions to republicans as they ever did, are in little mood to help out.

Worst of all, Boris Johnson has betrayed the DUP after the party has propped up the Tories for two and a half years.

The party is in response trying to exercise its influence at Westminster, and has already helped inflict defeat over the government, such as in relation to its Brexit deal timetable.

But the DUP nonetheless supported the Queen’s Speech and has not yet ended the confidence and supply agreement.

The party faces a major and difficult decision, as indeed it did after the disastrous first version of the Irish backstop, which the DUP secured in revising with a Stormont lock.

This insurance policy was simply abandoned by Theresa May, but because there was no sudden moment when that became clear, until almost a year later in November 2018, there was no clear moment for ending the deal with the Tories.

Withdrawing support will have repercussions, even though the government is already powerless. It will sour relations with a party that might soon have an overall majority. Yet there is also principle and dignity. Mr Johnson brought this about. Even if he is now worried by the deal’s seemingly unclear implications for internal trade, the EU won’t budge.

He cannot be allowed to think unionists will acquiesce in his betrayal. Unionist options are few but they can register their lack of consent and contempt for what has been done.