Over 100 BBC directors are paid more than the Prime Minister. Yet the organisation come to the Government with a begging bowl and use over 75s as a shameful bargaining chip. The license fee is a regressive tax which should be scrapped.
I will be enquiring as to who gave the Irish Foreign Minister access and permission to use Parliament Buildings for a press conference to attack the UK Prime Minister. If courtesies are going to be disrespected, then the matter will have to be carefully looked at.
Now is not the time to raise the ๐ณ as suggested by Jeremy Corbyn. There must be no 2nd referendum and no extension of Article 50. To do so would be to betray Brexit. Come what may, we will leave on the 29th March.
We've surrendered our freedoms.
We've destroyed our economy.
We've driven people to despair with doom laden data.
We need a new policy which protects our health, our liberties and our economy.
The people say get Brexit done by the end of the year. The economy needs it done by the end of the year. The law requires it done by the end of the year. The government has committed to getting it done by the end of the year. There is no case for delay.
Bercow: โIt is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop Parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping a course for the country", calls it a "constitutional outrage" > what are they actually going to about it?
The Prime Minister has lost my respect. Instead of owning his decision to capitulate on Northern Ireland to get his deal through in a hurry, he is implying that none of us can read the detail. It creates a border in the Irish Sea and the
@duponline
will not support it.
Conservative & Unionist MPs must take a stand for the Union and join us in rejecting this deal. Internal & burdensome trade barriers will be erected within the UK without parallel consent from both unionists & nationalists. This is not Brexit.
We must leave the ๐ช๐บ as one United Kingdom, whole and entire.
Welcome public restatement of private commitment by the Prime Minster & Minister for the Union ๐ฌ๐ง
The Chancellor's comments regarding a second referendum seem to indicate the beginning of another u-turn from a Government which promised us that we would leave on the 29th March, no deal was better than a bad deal and that they would never agree to a border in the Irish Sea.
All of the great and the good who were rolled out during the
#EURef
will be rolled out again in the coming weeks to try and get us to fall into line. We are clear - we will not be voting for this humiliation!
Iโve never shied away from speaking up for my constituents who voted to leave the EU. They are right, the backstop remains the poison in Parliament. The Union comes first.
Chilled British sausages are a threat to the peace process according to the EU, Alliance, Sinn Fein and the President of the United States.
The farcical Protocol needs to go and go now.
The idea that someone should face a criminal record because they donโt want to watch the BBC is anachronistic and cannot survive any serious public scrutiny. With streaming and on-demand services there can be little justification for the blanket TV-tax which is the licence fee.
The Government must act swiftly to decriminalise non-payment of the license fee. Their threat to drop Rule Britannia and their decision to set aside ยฃ100m to pursue pensioners who refuse to pay, demonstrates why this organisation should not be funded by a compulsory tax.
I wrote this last year and raised it the year before. BBC NI has for years deprived Belfast of the glorious essence of last night, turning the local concert into something unrecognisable from Albert Hall. Will they really try the same in London this year?
Donโt underestimate the dirty tricks, the skullduggery, the pressure and the manipulation the government will be engaged in to try and drive wedges, persuade people and weaken arguments as it tries to get this deal through Parliament.
๐ณ 13.9 million trees have been cut down in Scotland to make room for wind farms. This is on top of an undisclosed number which have been removed from private land.
Why? To erect steel structures on pristine landscapes and increase energy costs for millions ๐คทโโ๏ธ
Our position is simple.
1๏ธโฃ We will vote against the *current* Withdrawal Agreement.
2๏ธโฃ If the
@HouseofCommons
vote the WA down, the Confidence & Supply deal stands.
3๏ธโฃ If the PM manages to pass the WA, we will vote against her Government.
Exclusive: Speaking to
@theHouse_mag
, Nigel Dodds warns Theresa May the DUP will not "waver" on the party's Brexit redline. Any hope of wiggle room has been - as expected - flatly rejected.
I am supporting a ban on the import of foie gras once we leave the ๐ช๐บ The foie gras industry imposes horrific suffering on ducks & geese, impacting a quarter of a million birds annually. In the interests of animal welfare, banning f.g. imports should be a priority when we leave.
The PM might try to present this as a new, more acceptable deal but it is still the same old, nation destroying, economic wrecking, roll-over surrender to Brussels.
If the Government attempt to ignore the will of the
@HouseofCommons
and refuse to publish the full legal advice on the Irish backstop, the
@duponline
will work with colleagues from right across the House to ensure they start to listen!
Stephen Nolan earned between ยฃ325,000-ยฃ329,000 over the last year, according to the BBC. No one is worth that amount of money. Many pensioners will conclude that the BBC is having a joke at their expense with this outrageous abuse of public money.
.
@SkyNews
: โ
@duponline
MPs may abstain on Tuesdayโ.
FAKE NEWS!
The PM has broken promises to us, her own Party and the House of Commons. Her actions have consequences and WE WILL VOTE AGAINST!
Mayโs ๐ฌ๐ง๐ช๐บ Brexit deal is โthe greatest act of national humiliation in this proud nationโs recent historyโ
More than 200 chief executives and entrepreneurs have called on Conservative MPs to vote down Theresa Mayโs Brexit deal โฌ๏ธ
The UK Internal Market Bill is not perfect but it represents an important step forward for NI.
We must oppose the erection of trade barriers within our Union.
Iโm glad the Government have listened to
@DUPleader
and begun to address the problems in the Withdrawal Agreement.
Clear breach of UK Government commitment in Joint Report of 2017 to allow unfettered access to GB market for NI businesses. How can any Conservative & Unionist MP argue this does not represent a border in the Irish Sea?!
Initially Barclay said he didn't think customs declarations would be required but that he would write to the committee clarifying.
A few minutes later he read out a correction saying: "The exit summary declarations will be required in terms of NI to GB."
Confidence & Supply:
โIn accordance with our shared objectives for strengthening and enhancing the Union... and an exit from the European Union that benefits all parts of the United Kingdom.โ
The PM must keep her word or our answer will remain โnoโ.
'It's not just about me, it's about sovereignty and democracy' - A director, whose import business will be affected by Brexit, says that he voted leave in the referendum and is even more adamant now that he made the right decision.
Follow live here:
The United Kingdom voted to leave. Broxtowe voted to leave. Your manifesto committed to leaving both the Single Market and Customs Union. You have no mandate for the course you suggest.
#RespectTheVote
Parliament is finally taking control
#Brexit
& is seeing off a minority of ideologically driven hard Brexiteers. By whatever name or device thereโs growing all party consensus in both Houses to ensure
#UK
retains benefits of
#SingleMarket
&
#CustomsUnion
after we leave
#EU
โI am heartened by friends of the Union on both sides of the House and across the United Kingdom who have pledged to stand with the
@duponline
in opposing a deal which weakens the Unionโ ๐๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป
The news coming out of the European Commission today represents further unraveling of the promises which the Government made as to how the Windsor Framework would affect GB to NI trade.
A ๐งตโฆ
The Prime Minister told a tissue of lies to the House of Commons.
We continue to fight the Government on the Windsor Framework because we are not prepared to have our economy destroyed or our place in the UK disrespected.
We have a Prime Minister who seems to look for brick walls to bang her head against. How many bloody noses will it take before she recognises that the
@HouseofCommons
will not accept this rotten deal? Itโs time for her to get tough!
@BBCPolitics
At a time when it is threatening to take pensioners to court for non-payment of their license fee & many have been forced into poverty by Covid, the BBC creates yet another sinecure for one of its Executives.
@DefundBBC
If a deal emerges shaped on the contents of the PMโs letter,
@duponline
MPs & our allies will not support it. The PM knows the consequences, she now needs to reconsider.
The PMโs letter raises alarm bells for those who value the integrity of our precious union & for those who want a proper Brexit for the whole UK. From her letter, it appears the PM is wedded to the idea of a border down the Irish Sea with NI in the EU SM regulatory regime.
We will not be voting for any deal that calls into question the integrity of the United Kingdom. We voted to Leave together and we will Leave together.
My contribution to tonightโs
@LeaveMnsLeave
rally (15:20 onwards):
Ding dong merrily on high will be replaced this Christmas by ping-dong miserably we sigh.
I will vote against new restrictions in Parliament today.
They are not proportionate to deal with the spread of the mild omicron variant.
Since the ๐ฌ๐ง voted to leave the ๐ช๐บ our trade with the rest of world has increased by 15%. Upbeat and positive message from the International Trade Secretary
@LiamFox
at his lecture in the Speakerโs House. In stark contrast to the misery pumped out by the media daily.
1/ The introduction of domestic Covid passports in Northern Ireland would be yet another unacceptable step towards unwarranted state control of peopleโs personal lives.
The EU have not โbacktrackedโ.
They are still prepared to use all the mechanisms at their disposal (including Article 16) to create a hard border in Ireland if their vaccine programme continues to flounder.
The great con-trick which led to the protocol has been laid bare.
The EU are still prepared to create a hard border for vaccines to help people get through a pandemic.
It's quite clear that the idea the NI Protocol is necessary to avoid a hard border is exposed as a monumental falsehood.
@NigelDoddsDUP
The
@Conservatives
purged fellow *unionists* in their own Party, who objected to the division of the United Kingdom, from a key legislative committee.
They have surrendered their integrity to force through a further economic barrier created by the Windsor Framework.
NEW: WHO Europe Director, Hans Kluge tells me, no government should enforce another national lockdown unless it is absolutely necessary, a last resort
He says damage to other health areas, mental health, domestic violence, schools and cancer treatment is too great
.
@DUPleader
: "Democracy is at risk here if we do not respect the wishes of the people in the referendum."
โ Defend the Union
โ Deliver Brexit
Vote Diane Dodds 1โฃ
Coronavirus restrictions are having a detrimental impact on livelihoods, mental wellbeing and non Covid health conditions.
Yet many MPs uncritically accept the predictions which have been proven wrong over and over again.
Full speech ๐๐ป
Our Confidence and Supply Agreement is with the Conservative & Unionist Party. The current Brexit policy is totally unacceptable to us and the
@HouseofCommons
. It is entirely a matter for Conservative MPs to decide who their leader is... but the policy must change!
1/ The decision to introduce vaccine passports in Northern Ireland was ill-thought out. No evidence of their effectiveness has been provided and no economic impact assessment was carried out. A recent survey by the
@FSB_NI
found that 85% of their members opposed the passports.
The deal remains toxic. The Speaker has given the Prime Minister an opportunity to secure further changes to the backstop before returning to the
@HouseofCommons
. We will continue to talk with the Government but they must address the backstop if they want our support.
Climate policies are costing my constituents a fortune and draining their pockets during a cost of living crisis.
Donโt listen to the heatwave hysteria.
We donโt need Government to tell us to enjoy the sun responsibly and look out for each other.
To be clear - it is not for the DUP to dictate who should lead the Conservative and Unionist Party. How Conservative MPs ensure their manifesto, confidence and supply and Joint Report commitments are upheld is a matter for them...
โพ๏ธOut of the EU Customs Union.
โพ๏ธOut of the VAT regime.
โพ๏ธParallel consent in the Northern Ireland Assembly required for any divergence.
Fulfilment of our constant position as set out in Paragraph 50 โ
This proposal by the European Union comes as no surprise. It has already been ruled out by the United Kingdom government. Parliament has been clear that such proposals would never be approved. It is not a serious proposal and should not be treated as such. It is a non-runner.
The Ministers in the Party โof the Unionโ cannot stand idly by whilst the outcome of their foolish decision to bow to EU demands for a NI Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement damage one of the key features of the Union โ namely NIโs access to the UKโs single market.
@BrandonLewis
If the EU refuses to alter its dogmatic stance on this deal then we have the option of leaving without a comprehensive deal on 29th March.
That is the legal date of departure in both EU and UK law. To alter it, would be tantamount to abandoning Brexit.
.
@DianeDoddsMEP
is NI's first candidate in the European Election.
Register a message with London & Bussels that we must leave the European Union, and leave as one nation.
I fear that children will be stigmatised, bullied and come under peer pressure to accept a Covid vaccine.
Rolling out the vaccine to 12-15 year olds is no guarantee against educational disruption.
My question to the Vaccines Minister โฌ๏ธ
Swearing the oath to begin my 5th consecutive term as MP for East Antrim. My first as
@duponline
Chief Whip... the rebellious days are over ๐
Thank you East Antrim! ๐ช๐ป
New restrictions will deny people the right to earn a living, will drive millions into poverty, and will instil fear, and that should indicate that this policy is on the wrong track.
.
@NigelDoddsDUP
: โWe advised the Prime Minister back in December that the concept of a backstop was fatally flawed. She ignored that advice. We will never support a deal that places trade barriers between NI & GBโ.
If there is such distrust in the PM, the authors of the Surrender Act should vote for an election and allow the public to decide what they think of this humiliating piece of legislation.
The
@duponline
will be voting against the Governmentโs proposal to introduce Covid passports in England in the
@HouseofCommons
today.
Statement โฌ๏ธ
The Stormont Brake is only required because the Conservative & *Unionist* Government are consenting to the supremacy of EU law in Northern Ireland.
Itโs not a brake at all, itโs a fake.
The PM understands that the only way to achieve a sustainable majority in the HOC for her Brexit legislation is with Conservative, DUP and Brexit supporting Labour MPs. To secure this majority, she must bring back a deal which respects the referendum & the integrity of the ๐ฌ๐ง
Joe Biden is a parrot for Irish Nationalism and their falsehoods re the Belfast Agreement. I would far rather have an American eagle in President Trump than a nationalist parrot in the White House. The choice belongs to the American people.
#MAGA
๐ฌ๐ง๐ค๐บ๐ธ
If the EU continue to insist on their interpretation of the Withdrawal Agreement, which will disrupt food supplies to Northern Ireland, the Government must act unilaterally (under Article 16) to protect our consumers and the integrity of our Union.
If she is rolling back on her pledge that there will be no barriers between NI and GB, then the Prime Minister should be under no illusions; we will vote against her deal and it will go nowhere.