LONDON // British prime minister Theresa May struck a deal on Monday to prop up her minority government by agreeing to at least £1 billion (Dh4.7bn) in extra funding for Northern Ireland in return for the support of the country’s biggest Protestant party.
After more than two weeks of talks amid political turmoil sparked by her party’s failure to win a majority in a June 8 snap election, Mrs May can now be sure her government can pass a budget and Brexit legislation.
Mrs May and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster presided at the signing of a three-page so-called “confidence and supply” deal at Downing Street in London that is some way short of a more formal coalition agreement.
The deal means the DUP’s 10 MPs will now vote in support of Mrs May’s 318 Conservatives in the 650-seat parliament on the budget, legislative agenda, motions of confidence and Brexit.
In return, Mrs May agreed to least £1bn in extra funding over two years for Northern Ireland, agreeing to raise pensions annually by at least 2.5 per cent and to keep universal winter fuel payments for the elderly.
“I welcome this agreement which will enable us to work together in the interest of the whole United Kingdom, give us the certainty we require as we embark on our departure from the European Union, and help us build a stronger and fairer society at home,” Mrs May said.
The prime minister laced her deal with an attempt to end Northern Ireland’s political crisis by stipulating the money would only be released to a power-sharing executive in Belfast, upping pressure on the DUP to make an agreement with their Catholic nationalist rivals.
“The Conservative Party has recognised the case for higher funding in Northern Ireland given our unique history and circumstances over recent decades,” said DUP leader Mrs Foster. “We welcome this new financial support of £1n.”
The deal with the DUP, which won 292,316 votes in the election, will run for the life of the current parliament - due to end in 2022 - but will be reviewed after each parliamentary session, while most of the funding will be due in the first two years.
Even with the DUP’s lawmakers onside, Mrs May’s effective majority is slim and her position remains insecure though she has promised to get her Conservative Party out of what she termed the mess of the election.
Her Brexit strategy is under scrutiny and her future as prime minister is the subject of public debate with speculation that she could be challenged from within her own party within months.
As Mrs May negotiated the DUP deal, senior Conservatives such as former prime minister John Major raised concerns that an agreement with the Protestant party risks thrusting Northern Ireland back into turmoil by convincing “hard men” on both sides of the divide to return to violence.
The fear was that increasing the influence of pro-British unionists over the British government could create the perception that London was no longer an honest broker of the peace settlement reached in 1998.
The US-brokered 1998 Good Friday agreement brought an end to three decades of violence in Northern Ireland that killed 3,600 people.
The country has been in crisis since Sinn Fein pulled out of government in January, prompting an election in March and a series of missed deadlines to restore the compulsory coalition between Catholic nationalists and pro-British Protestant unionists.
“I will be returning to Northern Ireland to continue our discussions as we attempt to re-establish the Northern Ireland Executive,” Ms Foster said. “Now, more than ever, political leaders, both locally and nationally, need to work together to find solutions for all the people we serve.”
The latest deadline set by the British government for the parties in Northern Ireland to reach an agreement is Thursday. Sinn Fein said last week that “time was running out” given the lack of knowledge about the impact of any Conservative and DUP deal.
“Time is running short for the parties to come together and reach agreement to re-establish a power-sharing,” Mrs May said. “Northern Ireland needs a functioning devolved government at this important time.”
* Reuters
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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
What is a rare disease?
A rare disease is classified as one that affects a small percentage of the population. More than 7,000 diseases are identified as rare and most are genetic in origin. More than 75 per cent of rare genetic diseases affect children.
Collectively rare diseases affect 1 in 17 people, or more than 400 million people worldwide. Very few have any available treatment and most patients struggle with numerous health challenges and life-long ailments that can go undiagnosed for years due to lack of awareness or testing.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
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Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
