25/05/2024
DUP’s ‘Safeguarding the Union’ exposed as a sham
Addressing TUV’s Central Council meeting in Cookstown on Friday night, Jim Allister said the DUP/Donaldson Deal was now deservedly exposed as a sham.
“When the DUP jumped and accepted ‘Safeguarding the Union’ it sought to justify its climbdown actions by claiming its deal would not only remove the Irish Sea border but fully restore NI’s place in the United Kingdom by reason of the successive delivery steps in its deal. By October new legislation would deliver all that was promised!
“Now, by October the PM won’t even be in office, nor any legislation passed, and the DUP’s deal stands exposed as a threadbare sham. Such is what comes from the nativity of jumping first and squandering the only leverage they had. Clearly, Sunak never intended delivery, but the DUP fell for it hook, line and sinker.
“Yet, the easily tricked DUP now pretends they will deliver after the election. No, they won’t! Suddenly, the narrative has switched from deal done, sea border gone to a work in progress. How pathetic!
“Meanwhile, the constitutional reality is a Northern Ireland detached into the EU’s orbit, under foreign laws and a foreign partitioning border. This is the legacy of the DUP and its outgoing MPs. Yet, with brazen effrontery they demand unionists trust them again. Unlike the DUP, unionist voters once bitten will be twice shy.
“Only a vote for TUV/Reform UK will count against the Protocol. All others are now, sadly, in the implementation camp.”