Statement

TORIES WOULD GUT THE NORTHERN IRELAND BUDGET

Posted on: April 23, 2009

Speaking today Peter Weir said:

“It is accurate to say that the Northern Ireland block grant is likely to come under pressure as a result of the budget to be unveiled by the Chancellor on Wednesday. It is also accurate to say that any moves by the Chancellor to remove money from the Northern Ireland block grant will be opposed by the DUP team at Westminster. Commitments were made to Northern Ireland and it is vital that the Government honours those commitments.

What Danny Kennedy failed to point out in his rush to grab some publicity is that the Tory Party is committed to deeper and more severe cuts than the current government. Mr. Kennedy, with no sense of irony, exhorts the people of Northern Ireland to put their faith in a party that wants to scrap the Barnet formula and as a consequence reduce drastically the amount of money coming to Northern Ireland in the block grant. Indeed, the efficiency proposals made by the Tories would have already started in this financial year.

With a straight face, the Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader rushes to get in front of the TV cameras to express his concern at the prospect of cuts in the Northern Ireland block grant, whilst the UUP is being taken over by an organisation that wants to impose even more drastic spending cuts this year, not next year as the Chancellor is hinting.

Danny Kennedy must seriously believe that the people of Northern Ireland are a bunch of turkeys who will vote for Christmas by supporting UCUNF. Whilst the DUP will stand up for Northern Ireland and do all we can to ensure that cuts in the block grant are resisted, Danny Kennedy is sidling up to a party that wants to gut the Northern Ireland budget. It is for him to explain the glaring inconsistency in his latest self-serving public statement”,said the DUP MLA.