Irwin comments on DUP’s economically illiterate manifesto

Irwin Armstrong, 

Conservatives and Unionists candidate for North Antrim,

The DUP manifesto emphasises why we badly need a change of political direction in North Antrim. 

Not only is this document economically illiterate, its brass neck when it comes to expenses is scarcely believable!

While other parties have at least shown some contrition for exploiting the expenses system, the DUP is still trying to justify its behaviour! 

In fact it claims its MPs’ expenses “were of an entirely different nature” to those of other MPs. What arrogance!

While people in North Antrim work hard and struggle to pay their weekly food bills, our outgoing MP repeatedly claimed £400 worth of food a month for the short time he actually turned up to Westminster. His son was forced to resign as junior minister after constant questions about his relationship with a property developer.

After forty years of DUP/Paisley domination the last major international investment in this area was before Ian Paisley won our Westminster seat, the major hospital was lost to Antrim, the Army barracks closed, the local tax office is now closed, Ballymoney has lost much of its manufacturing industry and the side roads are in an appalling state. In contrast the Paisley dynasty’s chief legacy to North Antrim is a plush DUP constituency office in Ballymena. As one local man on the doorsteps summed it up ‘£60,000 a year for their office from the tax payer and I struggle to meet my bills’.

Voters in North Antrim are not fools. Many people I speak to on the doorsteps are angry about the expenses scandal and they know that the DUP are up to their necks in it. They want change and an end to dynasty, coat tail politics.

I, as a first time candidate and business owner, offer a chance for a new, transparent style of politics in North Antrim. I will publish my expenses monthly, so that every constituent can assess how they are being represented and every taxpayer can find out how their money is being spent and I will publish a monthly summary of my work for the people of North Antrim.