Naas councillor among six Sinn Fein members to quit over bullying claims
Union chief slams MLAs over fresh library cuts
THERESA May has insisted the result of the snap general election is “not certain” despite polls putting the Conservatives as many as 24 points ahead of Labour.
The Prime Minister said she was taking nothing for granted ahead of the June 8 vote as she spoke to workers at a toothpaste factory in her Maidenhead constituency in Berkshire.
It comes after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insisted the result was not a “foregone conclusion” despite his party’s dismal showings in opinion polls.
Mrs May used the visit to reiterate her message that the election was about ensuring Britain had “strong and stable leadership” going into Brexit negotiations.
She added: “The election campaign has only just begun, I’m not taking anything for granted, the result is not certain.
“I’m going to be out and about campaigning across the whole of the United Kingdom and I’m going to be out and about campaigning and meeting people in all different communities across the United Kingdom.
“But I wanted to be here, back A SINN Fein councillor has quit the party claiming she has experienced “bullying, hostility and aggression”.
The resignation of Sorcha O’Neill, a representative for Naas, Co Kildare in the Republic of Ireland, has sent shockwaves through the organisation amid accusations that her complaints were ignored by the Sinn Fein hierarchy.
Five other party activists in the Kildare area have also turned their back on the party.
“When you have members coming to you saying they are in the constituency that has shaped me and guided me over the years, to explain why this election matters so much.”
Answering questions after her speech, Mrs May was asked whether older people can expect to see their pensions continue to rise if she wins the election as they have done so far under Conservative-led administrations.
But she gave no commitment that she will preserve the “triple lock” introduced by David Cameron, under which the State pension rises by the highest of inflation, average losing sleep and are distraught, we came to a decision that it was just best to leave the party because it was so unhealthy,” Ms O’Neill said.
It is the latest in a series of controversies, most notably in Cork where two councillors resigned and former TD Sandra McLellan alleged she was bullied out of her position.
Sinn Fein has also had problems over recent months in Wicklow where councillors have rowed over who should be the local group leader.
Sources said the fresh row involving Ms O’Neill was linked to unelected representatives asserting substantial influence on earnings or a minimum 2.5% each year. “What I would say to pensioners is just look what the Conservatives in government have done,” she said. “Pensioners today are £1,250 better off as a result of action that has been taken. “We were very clear about the need to support people in their old age, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
A Spanish worker at the GSK factory challenged the Prime Minister over whether her future in the UK, where she has lived and worked for eight years, will be secure following Brexit. Mrs local decisions. Ms O’Neill, who got 1,622 first preference votes in 2014, told Kildare FM she felt “intimidated” and that people had suggested her work ethic was “less than desirable”.
“There’s not one thing. It’s a culture that has come up and it’s not something that you can talk out of.
“These are personalities that don’t see anything wrong in what they are doing. I have myself tried to reason with certain members,” she said.
Ms O’Neill said she raised “multiple concerns” with Sinn Fein’s head office over recent years but failed to get any more than a “casual response”. May said she had made clear to European Council president Donald Tusk (left) that she wants an early agreement on the status of EU nationals living in the UK.
But she added: “Also, of course, as UK Prime Minister, I have an interest and a care for UK citizens living in EU member states. I see a lot of goodwill on this issue and people wanting to give that reassurance, and I hope we will be able to do that at an early stage. The formal negotiations haven’t started yet, but I hope this will be one of the early issues we look at.”
Asked why she was refusing to take part in TV debates with other party leaders during the election campaign, Mrs May A spokesperson for Sinn Fein said Ms O’Neill’s statement had “come as a surprise”.
The party said she should “reflect on her position” and it regrets her decision to leave.
“She was a dedicated and capable member of our team and on the council,” they said.
“If there are issues in the constituency we will look at them, but Sorcha is a valued member of Sinn Fein and we would hope she will reconsider her position.
“We acknowledge that there are difficulties present in the area which we are working to address.
“We wish Sorcha all the best in the future.” said: “I’ve been doing head-tohead debates with Jeremy Corbyn week in and week out since I became Prime Minister.
“What I am going to be doing in the campaign is actually getting out and talking to voters and listening to voters and hearing from voters and answering their questions. I’m out there taking my message to people up and down this country, and that’s what I believe is important.”
Meanwhile, it was reported last night that the Leave.EU campaign group is facing an official investigation into “potential offences under the law” over its EU referendum spending returns.
The Electoral Commission said the move followed an assessment there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect the law had been broken. The announcement drew a furious response from Leave.EU’s chairman — former Ukip backer Arron Banks — who threatened legal action against the commission. POLITICIANS should be “ashamed” of a new round of cuts facing libraries, a trade union leader said yesterday.
Paddy Mackel blamed the measures, which will see opening hours reduced, on the failure to restore the Assembly and said MLAs appeared to care little for the poorest and most vulnerable people in society.
Libraries NI is already dealing with a £1.5m reduction of its budget in the current financial year, on top of earlier bet-tightening initiatives.
The fresh round of cuts will mean fewer staff and fewer new books, even though library usage, particularly among young people, appears to be increasing.
Mr Mackel, assistant secretary of the NIPSA union, said: “Once again, we see the reality of the impact of political failure reaching into the heart of the local community.
“When political parties fail to agree, refuse to respect each other and ignore the rights of citizens to be treated equally, it is always ordinary workers, their families and the most vulnerable who suffer.
“With almost half of all children and young people using libraries, as well as one in four adults, a significant number of migrant workers, pensioners and those citizens living in communities of multiple deprivation, political failure hits these people the hardest.”
There have been reports that Libraries NI will spread the cuts across all its operations, meaning up to £500,000 less may be spent on books and other stock. Staffing costs could also be squeezed by £650,000.
“It will not be possible to maintain the current pattern of opening hours consistently, and ad hoc closures are likely to occur across the network of libraries,” Libraries NI said.
The organisation’s chairman, Prof Bernard Cullen, added: “I am asking library users to bear with us during this financially difficult time.
“This is not a position that the board wants to be in, but one positive is that the current spending proposals are reversible and can be adjusted if and when new funding becomes available.”