And to think she was once the Foreign Secretary…
Liz Truss has called on Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin to “stop driving a wedge” between Northern Ireland and Britain.
The Tory leadership contender and former Foreign Secretary hit out at the party for creating a “constitutional division” in the country, saying she would govern for the whole UK “family” if she gains the keys to No 10.
In May, Sinn Féin became the largest party in the Northern Ireland assembly for the first time after it reached 27 seats in the election, pushing the DUP into second place.
Michelle O’Neill became the country’s first nationalist first minister as a result.
This is the kind of insight you could only get from a former foreign secretary pic.twitter.com/U7n3nU3pKx
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) August 15, 2022
The DUP lost support among unionists over its response to Brexit and trading arrangements after the border was drawn down the sea.
According to Bloomberg, the move “supercharged” the political push toward a united Ireland and the end of Westminster rule in the north.
Responding to Truss’s comments, Sinn Fein MP John Finucane said the leadership contender “serves in a government that dragged us out of the EU against our will, imposed austerity and cruel cuts to public services over 10 years, broke international law and is now threatening to tear up the Protocol, an international agreement they themselves negotiated.
“They are also giving cover to the DUP to block an Executive being formed at a time when workers and families are struggling with the rising cost of living and our health service is on its knees.
“We will take no lectures from the Tories who have demonstrated that they, and their policies, are bad for the people of Ireland.”
Doth her perception know no limits? pic.twitter.com/5nAQl98YrA
— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) August 15, 2022
In her comments, Ms Truss also slammed the SNP for their push over a second Scottish independence referendum and said the First Minister of Wales “rely on the endorsement of nationalists”.
Ms Truss said: “For too long, people in parts of our United Kingdom have been let down by their devolved administrations playing political games instead of focusing on their priorities.”
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