Paisley Westminster proposal misguided and hypocritical, says O’Lynn

Alliance North Antrim MLA Patricia O’Lynn has joined the chorus of voices condemning the DUP’s proposed Referendum Supermajority Bill, brought forward at Westminster by the party’s Ian Paisley Jr MP, deeming it ‘stunt politics’.

North Antirm Patricia O'Lynn

The Bill proposes that any referendum held on changing a UK region’s constitutional status would require a ‘supermajority’ of votes in favour of change in order to succeed. 
“Mr Paisley’s efforts here to introduce such a bill are misguided, gimmicky, and, frankly, hypocritical” said Dr O’Lynn.
“This move may also be surprising to some, coming as it does from a party who threw their full political weight behind the hardest Brexit possible following a referendum which, under this Bill’s proposals, likely would not have passed.
“Mr Paisley has spoken of the need for stability and I very much agree. As people here wait for the delivery of support that should have been in place months ago, as we face a budget overspend that will see Westminster taking crucial decisions about our future that should be made locally, and as we head towards a new age of austerity, all I can conclude is that Mr Paisley’s party colleagues should consider getting back to work in Stormont so we can actually provide such stability for the people of Northern Ireland.”