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DUP lost voters' trust over Stormont deal - TUV

BBC TUV leader Jim AllisterBBC
TUV leader Jim Allister spoke at the party's manifesto launch on Friday

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has “irretrievably forfeited” the trust of voters with its “deception” over the deal to restore Stormont, the leader of Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) has said.

Jim Allister was speaking at the launch of the party's manifesto for the UK general election on 4 July.

The TUV is running 14 candidates in Northern Ireland.

Mr Allister said post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland mean the UK has been “splintered by a partitioning border in the Irish Sea” and the party is seeking its “reunification”.

The TUV has been strongly critical of the DUP's deal with the UK government, which saw the party end its two-year boycott of Northern Ireland's devolved government in February.

The DUP, Stormont's largest unionist party, had been protesting against post-Brexit trading arrangements under the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework.

PA Media Gavin RobinsonPA Media
Gavin Robinson is leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

In May, DUP leader Gavin Robinson accepted his party oversold the deal they negotiated, saying there "should have been more cautious realism".

Speaking at the TUV's manifesto launch in County Antrim, Mr Allister said the DUP had “shredded its own credibility”.

Farage DUP endorsement 'a media story'

The TUV announced an electoral alliance with Reform UK in March when Richard Tice was its leader.

But Reform's new leader Nigel Farage has since backed two DUP candidates.

They include Ian Paisley, who is seeking re-election in the North Antrim constituency where Mr Allister is the TUV's candidate.

PA Media The TUV's Westminster candidates hold square signs saying 'Restore the Union TUV Reform UK No Sea Border'PA Media
The TUV announced an alliance with Reform UK in March for the Westminster election

Mr Allister said the alliance between the two parties still stands and denied Mr Farage’s intervention had confused voters.

“It's a media story - it's not a doorsteps story,” the TUV leader said.

Reform UK has said it is "committed" to its partnership with TUV.

TUV 'not unionism dividers'

The party's manifesto launch event was attended by Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib.

Mr Allister said he was “not asking anyone to withdraw endorsements”, adding that “what matters to me is the endorsement of the people”.

Mr Allister rejected suggestions his party standing in the election could cost unionism seats.

He said that “no seat belongs to any party” and it was “vitally important to maximise the unionist vote”.

“TUV are not the dividers of unionism,” he added.

The banner of TUV manifesto launch saying 'Restoring UK equal citizenship'

The TUV is not standing in three constituencies - Fermanagh and South Tyrone, North Down, and Upper Bann - to support other unionist candidates.

The party is not contesting the Foyle constituency because it could not find a suitable candidate.

In the last general election in 2019, the party did not run any candidates.

The TUV's vote share increased in the last Stormont election in 2022, but it did not result in additional seats, with Mr Allister again returned as the party's only assembly member.

What is in the TUV's manifesto?

Some of the party's manifesto pledges include:

  • Continue to oppose the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework and seek new arrangements.
  • A “robust” migration policy across the whole of the UK including a freeze on “non-essential” immigration.
  • Lift the income tax start point to £20,000 a year and cut energy taxes.
  • Campaign in Westminster for a “fair” funding deal for Northern Ireland.
  • Opposition to “gender-neutral” changing rooms becoming “the norm”.
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