Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister in anticipation of Assembly election:-
“Recent events will have been a rude awakening for those duped by fuzzy Belfast Agreement spin into fondly imagining Sinn Fein wanted to make Stormont work and would knuckle down to making a success of Northern Ireland.
“How naive can some people be? As naive as those who were conned by the pretence of a “fresh start”.
“As TUV has always argued would happen it is now clear that this Stormont has served its purpose as far as IRA/Sinn Fein is concerned. It’s time for the next phase of their insurrection politics, unless the DUP fills their boots with new concessions after the election. Then, they might tarry a while to spend Stormont’s remaining credit, before repeating the exercise.
“Sinn Fein has never wanted or intended Northern Ireland to work. Now, they are ready to use the leverage of pulling the house down to advance their insatiable republican agenda.
“Unionists have nothing left to give. The DUP, in particular, with its attachment to power – any power, needs to realise this. They have fallen for long enough for Sinn Fein’s blandishments and bought into the narrative that Sinn Fein was committed to making Stormont work. Such misjudgement has inflicted much of the failure of the last 10 years.
“There can be no tranche of concessions to Sinn Fein after the election. It will be a key part of TUV’s function to act as guard dog against sell out. TUV is unionist voters’ best insurance policy.”