Ulster Unionist Brexit spokesperson, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, has said that the DUP have been taken for a ride over the UK Government’s new Brexit proposals.
Steve Aiken OBE MLA said:
“The DUP heralding this new arrangement as a victory is as bizarre as it is insulting to the intelligence of the people of Northern Ireland. They had their eye wiped in December 2017 with the disastrous backstop and nearly two years later have done the seemingly impossible by serving up something that is worse.
“If this is going to come to the floor the Assembly for consent then unionism may not have the final say. Under the DUP’s stewardship, the unionist majority at Stormont has evaporated. It is high stakes to kick the can down the road and hope that the numbers are different. They are playing Russian roulette with the future of the United Kingdom.
“How could anyone support an arrangement that saw Northern Ireland trapped in a never-ending Brexit debate? We can kiss goodbye to any hope of stability if we are going to effectively hold a referendum on the floor of the Assembly every four years.
“If the DUP had a Brexit strategy to begin with it has been an absolute shambles. They have been taken for a ride by those who want to see Brexit done even if Northern Ireland’s place within the Union is the cost.”