Philip Smith MLA has described the lack of leadership from the DUP post-EU referendum as “farcical”.
The Strangford MLA said:
“It is clear that despite having campaigned to leave the European Union, the DUP are without a plan for our future outside it. We are hearing another DUP Minister, this time Simon Hamilton, acknowledging the unknowns we face, the management that will be required, but no reassurance and no leadership.
“That is why the Ulster Unionist Party will be meeting with key stakeholders from business, finance and academia tomorrow. We want to offer a coherent and constructive voice for those who are facing an era of uncertainty as we consider the United Kingdom’s future outside of the EU.
“It is totally farcical that a party that recommended people voted to the leave the EU then demonstrates that they had not planned for that outcome. They now even appear to be advocating retaining aspects of the European Union they wanted to leave so badly, such as free movement of people and access to the single market.
“What are the DUP and Sinn Fein doing? They are the two parties leading the Executive. It is a total insult to the people of Northern Ireland that the Executive is rudderless at a time when leadership is needed more than ever.”