‘Hard reality will soon dawn on Boris Johnston’ – Newry MLA

SDLP Assembly Member for Newry and Armagh Justin McNulty has said that the new British Prime Minister will soon have to confront the reality that the Brexit impasse “will not be resolved with a bullish ****-a-hoop attitude”.

Speaking to Newry Times, McNulty said, ‘This week we witnessed the changing of the guard of the Tory Party in Westminster. 

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“With that changing of the guard we needed also to see a realisation of the realities at stake in relation to Brexit and its impact on border communities and on all of Ireland, but instead, we’re getting only more bullish hifalutin ranting from the new Prime Minister Boris Johnston.

“His first speech was, as expected, full of bluff but short on solutions to the challenges of Brexit. Boris failed to break the habit of a lifetime. Bloated with bluff but short on solutions, he must face the reality that no amount of flag-waving or saccharine patriotic populism will resolve the challenges Brexit poses.”

He continued, “There is absolutely no evidence that this administration is prepared to make the brave compromise needed to protect the interests of people, communities and businesses in Northern Ireland.

“A ‘can-do spirit’ won’t negate tariffs for the agri-food sector, it won’t conjure open supply lines for vital medicines, it won’t fix a potential regulatory misalignment and it certainly won’t remove the need for the backstop.

“This new administration, led by a populist, must face reality quickly. Otherwise, we’re headed for a no-deal outcome and the interests of border communities and of this island will be sacrificed to sustain Johnson’s grip on power.

“Our region will be impacted the hardest with a hard Brexit. Whilst those in London might see an impact in its governance, we in local border communities will see an impact on the everyday way of life,” the Newry MLA insisted. 

“A no-deal Brexit is the worst of all outcomes for this region and we cannot stand by and allow that to happen. 

“Boris may believe his maverick bullish attitude will get him somewhere positive, however, the reality of his current position for both his island and this island, is that the only place he appears to be angling towards would be economic ruin,” McNulty added.

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Posted by Newry Times News on Jul 30 2019. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry