TUV leader visits Fermanagh & South Tyrone
Though speaking in Fermanagh & South Tyrone on Friday night the TUV leader, Jim Allister, made only passing reference to the new First Minister, choosing to major on the advantages of a British exit from Europe.
Referring to Mrs Foster’s appointment as DUP leader, Mr Allister said, “They may have switched to a saleswoman, but the product is still the same hopeless failure of Sinn Fein/DUP misrule, continuing only at the price of Mrs Foster and the DUP consciously sweeping IRA murder under the carpet. That was the price paid to cling to office.”
Turning to what he described as “the most critical decision this nation will make for decades” the TUV leader urged the people of the UK to seize the opportunity to “break the chains that bind us to Brussels” in the upcoming referendum.
“Under the pretence that we were joining a mere “common market” this once independent nation was sucked into an ever closer political union, bound by treaties which strip us of the right to control our own borders, our own trade, our own laws and our own destiny. With every EU treaty the Brussels noose has tightened; the tentacles of Brussels bureaucracy and diktat controls all our lives, both personally and corporately.
“In what is likely to be our last opportunity our nation will in the referendum have the chance to liberate itself and retake control of our own destiny and borders. What is happening across Europe on the migration front is a salutory lesson in the folly of EU nations surrendering control of their own borders. Such is what the EU demands with its treaty ensconced free movement imperatives. David Cameron in his puny “demands” is seeking to do nothing about this or any other issue of importance. The impotence of the Cameron stance is demonstrated by the fact that not one of his requests requires a single treaty change. So, in reality and in law, nothing would change: the onward relentless march of ever closer union would continue.
“No matter what way you look at the EU issue it makes no sense for the UK to be involved:
* We are a huge net financial contributor, pouring £20 billion every year into the bottomless pit of Brussels – and we’ve been doing it for 40 years. The net cost of EU membership to the UK is over £1m every hour. This is £20billion far better spent on our own people, our own farmers, rather than the inefficient farmers of Italy and Greece.
* Though one of the biggest economies in the world and above all a trading nation, we cannot even make a trade deal with another country, because only Brussels can do that. This is a huge inhibitor of our growth, which might well suit those who want to hold us back, but which tethers us to the most moribund economic region in the world, the EU, whose share of the world’s GDP has fallen dramatically.
* With the UK’s trade deficit with the rest of the EU of the order of £30m per day; the proportion of our exports to the EU is falling year on year, while our exports to the rest of the world rise, confirming that this is where the growth in our trade lies. We need liberated to build that trade.
* The reality of our trade deficit with the EU means that upon exit EU states will still want to trade with us, because the deficit shows they need us more than we need them. So, all the scare stories about losing trade with Europe are exactly that, scare stories, but untrue.
* We are told we couldn’t live without Brussels subsidies. Utter nonsense. Remember it is our own money that we are getting back, but only some of it because we are net contributors. Outside the EU we’d have that £20billion per year to spend on our own people.
* Then, there is the nonsense spun about Northern Ireland being unable to survive without EU handouts. Not only is it our own money we are getting back, but even we are net contributors. Our proportionate share of the UK’s annual contribution is of the order of £500m. Last year, 2014/15, we got back £300m on agriculture (AQW 51652/11-16) and £133m from EU structural funds (AQW 52551/11-16).
“Prosperity and growth, along with the dignity of standing on our own feet and making our own decisions, await us outside the EU. Why are we waiting?”