Mary Lou McDonald on Twitter:
Spoke with @trussliz Protocol is here to stay. Constructive, good faith work needed to resolve issues of concern. Stakes are high. Stability peace jobs & prosperity must come first. Political posturing & narrow electoral positioning of @duponline can't hold progress back.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP via DUP press:
This was a welcome opportunity to meet with the Foreign Secretary so she could hear first-hand about the damage the Protocol arrangements are doing to Northern Ireland, in both economic and political terms. We understand she already has a clear understanding of the problems created over the last year.
Northern Ireland is currently required to implement EU law on a wide range of economic, finance and manufacturing policy without any input whatsoever from Northern Ireland or UK legislators and is subject to the jurisdiction of the EU Courts. Northern Ireland cannot continue to be held prisoner in such arrangements.
The Protocol was imposed on Northern Ireland without the support of its people. The DUP opposed it in Parliament and has consistently forecast the consequences of its enactment. A year on from its activation we have won the argument that the Protocol is unworkable and damaging to Northern Ireland – even those who previously argued for its rigorous implementation accept begrudgingly that it is not working.
Elected representatives who support the Union have set out their assessment that the NI Protocol is bad for Northern Ireland and if left unaltered will lead to the economic and constitutional divergence of Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. This we cannot and will not accept. The current temporary grace periods are saving Northern Ireland from an even more immediate harmful situation.
We have indicated to Ms Truss that Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom internal market must be restored so that there are no checks for goods travelling from Great Britain and staying within Northern Ireland. That must be guaranteed by the UK Government.
Following the meeting we have asked the Government to set out a plan of how they intend to deliver imminently on their Command Paper.
*The UK Government must also indicate a timetable
... keep reading on reddit ➡https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-59927034
I will be upfront about my bias and say I dislike almost all current Conservative cabinet members so am not in a place to make good judgements of their comparative qualities.
I have read that Liz Truss is the most popular cabinet member amongst Conservative members and is tipped as a candidate to take over from Johnson, and have recently seen a notable increase in Tory members saying how great she is on both Reddit and Twitter. I can't say I have followed her career closely, but whenever I have seen her being interviewed or giving speeches I have found her utterly unimpressive - unable to answer basic questions, regularly lying about the benefits of the trade deals she has made, and in general just thought she was considered a bit of a joke both for the infamous cheese speech and just for the general air of incompetence she exudes. Plus the utter hypocrisy of having supported remaining in the EU, stating what a disaster leaving the single market would be and how bad post-Brexit trade deals would be, only to now say the exact opposite in order to be promoted to cabinet roles.
What am I missing? Why do you personally like her and how has she somehow become so popular within the Tory party? Asking in good faith!
