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Good morning John

This week in Westminster was dominated by chaos – a failed welfare plan, a shaken Chancellor, and more evidence of a Government out of its depth and out of ideas.

The Labour Government’s attempt to push through a punitive welfare bill collapsed in spectacular fashion. The DUP voted against it because we will not support any policy that seeks to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable in our society.

We are clear – the national credit card should not be paid down by those already struggling, particularly when the Government can still find millions to pour into the impact of uncontrolled immigration, climate change fanaticism and woke ideology. They even found half a million pounds to move a dot in the gov.uk website. Yet they expect those on low incomes, the disabled or those out of work through no fault of their own to pick up the tab. That is wrong.

The Government said the bill when first laid would save £5 billion. Now it’s dead. And with that money vanished into thin air, the very real fear is that Labour will now reach for its old playbook and raise taxes in the Autumn Budget instead. That would be just as wrong. The hard working people of the United Kingdom should not be forced to hand over even more of their wages to fund a Government that refuses to confront waste and fraud, but seems content to punish work and penalise those who genuinely need help.

It was no surprise, then, to see the Chancellor visibly emotional in the Commons chamber. Whatever one thinks of Rachel Reeves’ politics, it was an uncomfortable and unpleasant sight. No one should take satisfaction in someone’s obvious distress. Politics is brutal. It can take a very real toll on individuals and their families. Some of the criticism levelled at the Chancellor has been harsh and, at times, cruel.

I see this too often, particularly in the treatment of some of my own female colleagues – where social media has become a sewer of personal abuse and targeted harassment. We all must do better. Let us fight over ideas and principles, not personalities and private pain.

The Prime Minister has been visibly rattled by the week’s events – not just this failed bill, but U-turns on vital issues like the grooming gang inquiry. One year into office, this Government is failing. It is failing to get a grip on the economy. Failing to deliver functioning public services. Failing to address the immigration crisis. And crucially – failing Northern Ireland.

The economic disruption of the Windsor Framework continues to mount. This week, the FSB published research showing just how damaging the arrangements are for our internal market and the disruption it is having on local businesses. And at Stormont’s Economy Committee, local car dealerships confirmed that motorists in Northern Ireland will face reduced choice because of the framework’s red tape. Some seek to portray it as a consequence of Brexit, but they are wrong to do so. It is a consequence of the arrangements demanded by SF, SDLP and Alliance to separate us from the rest of the UK, and the Brexit freedoms they enjoy.

How can these parties stand by and argue that it is anything but absurd and offensive that a local business like Grassmen – returning from a successful Royal Highland Show – is stopped at Larne and told to turn around and go back to Cairnryan to have their visibly clean tractors inspected. It’s bureaucratic nonsense, and it must end.

We will continue to stand firm against this directionless, unprincipled Government, and stand firm for the full restoration of Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. A Government that punishes the vulnerable, chokes the economy, and ignores the needs of Northern Ireland is one that we will oppose when it is right to do so. The DUP will keep fighting for fairness.

With best wishes,

Rt. Hon. Gavin Robinson MP

DUP Leader


** Weekly review with Cllr. Tracy Kelly
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** Lord Mayor of Belfast
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