Good morning.
Welcome to the launch of our General Election Manifesto.
I want to thank our hosts this morning.
I am delighted we are gathered at this fantastic facility which is so treasured by the local community.
I am joined by my General Election candidate colleagues at our Manifesto launch.
I want to thank everyone gathered for your efforts and your contribution to our massive ground campaign across every part of Northern Ireland.
We know from our doorstep conversations that our message is getting through and resonating.
It’s clear that voters in every constituency are alive to the big issues of the campaign and they know that it’s the teams from this party that are knocking doors and having real engagement.
Voters can tell the difference between those who have been fighting for them and can win for them, and those who can’t win and who don’t care if they splinter the Pro-Union vote and reduce the number of Pro-Union MPs representing Northern Ireland in Parliament.
The publication of our manifesto marks ten days to polling day.
On 4th July voters will face a clear choice.
The choice made in ten days’ time will determine who will go to Parliament and whether they will be representatives unashamedly making the case for Northern Ireland, wanting to promote it and doing the best for it;
Or will they be representatives who won’t go or who will spend their time talking Northern Ireland down?
And make no mistake the outcome of this election will matter. Every vote will count.
The DUP has the strength and depth to be able to unashamedly make the case for Northern Ireland. We go to Parliament and make the case on your behalf.
The Democratic Unionist Party has an experienced track record of working for you on issues that matter. While others talk about delivery, we can stand over what has been achieved for everyone in Northern Ireland.
In the last term alone, as a result of the mandate given to us, the DUP has secured meaningful, visible and practical proposals to deepen connections throughout our United Kingdom, whilst driving forward the Northern Ireland economy.
DUP Parliamentarians ensured all households in Northern Ireland received the Government’s £600 energy support payment and benefited from discounted bills under the Energy Price Guarantee.
They also supported the ‘Essentials Guarantee’ campaign, which seeks to ensure that, at a minimum, Universal Credit protects people from going without essentials.
DUP MPs successfully fought to extend to Northern Ireland legislation exonerating sub-postmasters wrongly convicted as a result of the Horizon IT scandal.
We supported calls for comprehensive compensation for the victims of the infected blood scandal. In addition to the interim compensation payments our MPs have campaigned for urgent further compensation for those affected. When this issue was raised in Parliament, Paul Girvan and my colleagues have ensured that Northern Ireland and its citizens were represented.
We succeeded in passing the British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act to ensure people born in the Republic of Ireland who have lived in Northern Ireland or other parts of the United Kingdom for at least five years can claim British citizenship without the need for tests and fees.
This legislation was supported by the Government and became law in May 2024. My bill marks the successful conclusion to a long and determined campaign fought by my East Londonderry friend and colleague Gregory Campbell and my Foyle friend and colleague William Hay.
We have led the charge for a new needs-based funding model for Northern Ireland. Underfunding has systematically destroyed Northern Ireland’s capacity to provide front-line services that are fit for the 21st century.
We are determined to ensure that our public services are funded by a new, responsible, long-term fiscal framework that equitably funds our NHS and other public services.
Our DUP campaign is now mainstream and the Government has been forced to accept a new definition of need going forward.
We will press the next Government to ensure that funding cannot drop below the definition of assessed need in Northern Ireland - £124 for every £100 spent in England.
In the last term, our members supported the Armed Forces Act 2021, delivering on our pledge to ensure the Armed Forces Covenant was legally protected in Northern Ireland as in other parts of the United Kingdom.
We insisted on the appointment of a Northern Ireland Veterans’ Commissioner to act as an independent point of contact for, and support, service families locally.
And I was delighted to be able to join with Paul Girvan, Sammy Wilson, Phillip Brett, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and other colleagues at the Northern Ireland Armed Forces Day in Jordanstown on Saturday.
Your team at Westminster has successfully fought for vital funding to strengthen local communities and support those who find themselves in challenging circumstances.
This included:
- delivering a £20 million funding package for town centre regeneration in Coleraine and Londonderry;
- securing tens of millions of pounds in Levelling Up funding for local projects, including the redevelopment of Dundonald International Ice Bowl;
- fighting for, and delivering, £15 million in emergency support from the UK Government to support flood recovery schemes in Northern Ireland;
- and we successfully lobbying the Development for Levelling Up and Department for Communities to fund and launch a scheme to address cladding on buildings in Northern Ireland, post-Grenfell.
This party made the retention of the triple lock on pensions a key policy pillar for us and in the last Parliament we have continued to stress the importance of this guaranteed protection for pensioners across the United Kingdom.
And today Northern Ireland is on course to be the first region in Europe to have 100 per cent fibre broadband availability because of £150 million delivered by DUP MPs.
So, when we say we have been fighting and delivering for Northern Ireland we mean it.
Whilst progress was made, there is still more to do.
A strong DUP team in Westminster who will work for the people of Northern Ireland, and a team who will work with their DUP colleagues in the Assembly is the only way to ensure we collectively deliver for you.
As we proved before, more seats means more influence which means more delivered for Northern Ireland.
This 46-page manifesto, encapsulating our commitments at this General Election, focuses on ensuring Northern Ireland and its people can thrive in every respect as a secure and vibrant part of the United Kingdom.
As we publish our manifesto this morning, we make clear that we are on the side of people in Northern Ireland who want to work hard and who are motivated to do the best they can for themselves, their families and their communities.
The DUP will always champion the cause of policies and actions that help better the lives of people and in the next Parliament, with your support, we will again campaign on the issues that impact everyday lives.
Our document sets out our policy commitments and where we will stand on the critical issues that will come before the next Parliament.
Outlined in the manifesto you will see we are seeking a mandate to continue Making Northern Ireland Work by:
1. Promoting the Union and Removing Barriers Within the United Kingdom;
2. Putting You First - Delivering Fair and Equitable Funding for Our NHS, and Other Public Services;
3. Campaigning to Protect Family Incomes;
4. Unleashing our Full Economic Potential;
5. A Strategic Role for UK Defence and Security;
6. Backing our Farmers and Food Security;
7. Leading a Fairer - Not Faster – Path Towards Net-Zero;
8. Defending Our Most Vulnerable;
9. Investing More in National Infrastructure, and;
10. Standing Up for Victims of Crime.
I believe in Northern Ireland and I want success for all our people.
Some people can only see problems, but we stand on our record of getting things done and never giving up.
Over the last 5 years we have made progress.
But with your support we can do more.
As we enter the closing stages of this election we are campaigning for every vote and seeking a mandate to send the strongest team to Westminster.
Whether its help with childcare costs, more for our NHS, campaigning to protect family incomes, seeking a fair financial settlement for our public services or continuing to fight to fully restore Northern Ireland’s place within the UK, we are fighting for you.
On the 4th of July the choice you make will matter.
If you want a stronger, more prosperous Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, then you need to vote for it.
If you want a strong Pro-Union team who will fight for Northern Ireland then you need to vote for it by backing the people who believe in Northern Ireland and who will do the job you elect them to do.
By sitting at home or voting for smaller parties you know can’t win, you risk helping to elect MPs who will take us in the wrong direction and who don’t believe in Northern Ireland.
Let us go forward and ensure that on 4th July we have a strong DUP team that will be working and winning for the people of Northern Ireland.
Thank You.