Theresa May's minority government under pressure as DUP backs Labour position

MPs supported a non-binding Opposition House of Commons motion calling for an end to the public sector pay cap in the NHS but it was not put to a vote after the Government did not contest it.

Mr Paisley is one of 10 pro-Brexit DUP MPs helping to prop up Prime Minister Theresa May's Tory administration after her snap election left her with no overall majority.

Wednesday would have marked the first time DUP MPs voted to pressure ministers since their party agreed to a confidence and supply arrangement with the Conservatives after the general election.

Because the motion was not binding it would not have amounted to a breach of the £1 billion Tory/DUP deal.

North Antrim MP Mr Paisley said: "I've already alluded to the fact that I'm delighted that the Labour Party has brought forward this debate tonight.

"We will support them if this matter goes to a vote tonight, and it's interesting to see if we will actually get to that point.

"Maybe the House will agree that the points that have been raised today are such that we should send out a clarion call from this House that we do agree with the points that have been raised, all across this chamber today."

The Government only commands a majority because of its confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP, which has said it will support the Conservatives on key legislation.

Mr Paisley added: "To those members of the Labour Party who chide about the £1 billion deal, your party would quite happily have cut a deal that would probably have been better for us.

"That's the discussions we had in advance of the last election, and to chide us, you only hurt public servants in Northern Ireland who are benefiting from that £1 billion deal that will allow us to allocate this money to relieve these costs."

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said the motion was not covered by the confidence and supply arrangement agreed by the two parties.

"Lifting the cap on nurses' pay and in the public sector generally is our party policy. The Government understood that is the way that we were going to vote," Mr Dodds told Sky News following the debate.

"It is not part of the confidence and supply arrangements. We are separate parties, we are not part of the Government and we will make up our own mind on those issues."

No DUP MPs were in the chamber for the start of the debate on tuition fees, with the SNP claiming "they have all headed to the airport".

However, two DUP MPs were visible in the chamber at the time of the vote.

Conservative sources insisted they were "pretty relaxed" about the outcome of the debate, which does not require the Government to change policy.

It comes the day after ministers effectively ended the pay cap with the announcement of rises above the 1% limit for police and prison officers.