Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
It never rains but it pours..
Sinn Fein & DUP slate May on Belfast visit to save Brexit
THERESA May sidestepped questions on whether she would support Sinn Fein taking their Westminster seats to back her Brexit deal.
The Prime Minister, who was pressed on the issue during her visit to Belfast yesterday, insisted it was a matter for the republican party to decide on.
She said: “What my job is about is showing those MPS who will be voting on December 11 on this deal why it is a good deal for the UK.”
On Monday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said if Sinn Fein was not prepared to ditch its abstentionist policy it should resign its seven seats to allow other MPS to represent its constituents in the Commons vote.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald was in Northern Ireland yesterday to meet the PM.
Rejecting the idea, she said: “Ireland won’t be protected at Westminster. Any notion Sinn Fein MPS could ride in on their chargers and stop Brexit or save Mrs May are politically fanciful – I would go so far as to say politically illiterate.
“We are abstentionists, we are Irish republicans, we believe, as the nationalist people of this island believe, our decisions are best taken here in our democratic institutions on this island.”
Meanwhile, DUP leader Arlene Foster described any suggestion the party’s support for the Brexit withdrawal agreement could be bought with further investment pledges for Northern Ireland as “offensive”. At Stormont for talks with the PM, Mrs Foster was asked at a press conference whether another “bribe” would win her party round.
This was a reference to the £1billion secured by the DUP as part of its confidence and supply deal with the Tories at Westminster.
But she replied: “We didn’t take a bribe in the first place – the confidence and supply agreement was for all of the people of Northern Ireland.
“Some of that money has already been delivered.
“We look forward to the rest of that money being delivered for all of the people of Northern Ireland.
“It is very offensive to raise this in terms of money. We are talking about the constitutional and economic long-term future of Northern Ireland – so the answer is no.”
Mrs Foster suggested opposition to Mrs May’s deal at Westminster was “coalescing” around the border backstop proposal – the controversial measure that could see Northern Ireland operate under a different regulatory regime to the rest of the UK to ensure a free-flowing border. She added: “So if she ditches the backstop there is every reason to believe this withdrawal agreement could go through.”
Defending her deal, the PM said: “The alternative is more uncertainty and more division, and that is a very clear message that we have got here in Northern Ireland but have had elsewhere as well, that people do not want to return to uncertainty and division.”
She added her draft agreement with the EU delivered on the Brexit vote in a fashion that protected jobs, livelihood and security.
The PM said: “I believe if this deal does not go though on December 11 what we will see is a return to division and uncertainty.
“The message I have clearly heard here today from across the board, from the voluntary sector, from young people, from businesses, from the cultural sector, from academics, is the importance of that certainty and the importance of Parliament accepting that deal so we can move on to develop our future.”