The Official Site of Sammy Wilson MP
Bringing East Antrim’s Voice to the Centre of Decision-Making
🚨 TODAY’S BUDGET HAS FAILED FAMILIES, BUSINESSES AND FARMERS. 🚨
People across Northern Ireland are feeling the squeeze, facing one of the heaviest tax burdens in generations. They were looking to the Chancellor for meaningful relief, but today’s announcements will do little to ease the pressure. 💷
⛽ FUEL COSTS REMAIN A MAJOR CONCERN
Extending the 5p fuel duty cut and freezing fuel duty will help, but with diesel approaching £2 a litre, drivers, hauliers and businesses are entitled to ask: why wasn’t more done?
🇬🇧 SOME POSITIVES FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
The additional £270 million for the Executive will help ease pressure on our public services, while the Investment Summit and £7.5 million for cybersecurity skills are welcome.
But these measures do not make up for the lack of meaningful action on the wider cost pressures facing families and businesses.
🚜 FARMING FAMILIES LEFT WITHOUT ANSWERS
Once again, there has been nothing on the family farm tax. Our farmers deserve certainty, not continued uncertainty about the future of their family businesses and livelihoods.
🏪 SMALL BUSINESSES FACE MORE PRESSURE
Nobody begrudges low-paid workers an increase in the minimum wage, but we must be honest about the consequences.
Small businesses are already struggling with rising costs, including the increase in National Insurance. Higher wage bills will add further pressure, and some of those costs are likely to be passed on to consumers through higher prices in our shops and at the pumps.
🛡️ WHERE IS THE COMMITMENT ON DEFENCE?
At a time of growing international instability, the Government has still failed to set a date for reaching 3% of GDP on defence spending.
That is difficult to reconcile with the Chancellor’s previous call for a 2030 target when she resigned as Defence Secretary.
📉 TAX MORE, SPEND MORE AND HOPE FOR GROWTH — THAT IS NOT A PLAN FOR SUCCESS.
Families need relief. Businesses need room to grow. Farmers need certainty. And our national security needs a credible, long-term commitment.
Today, the Chancellor has failed to provide the answers people were looking for.
#Budget #NorthernIreland #DUP #CostOfLiving #SmallBusinesses #FamilyFarms
Not everyone thinks about how fireworks can affect our pets and other animals. I’m supporting The RSPCA to encourage everyone in my constituency to #BeAKindSpark and Help Quieten the Noise by considering attending organised events this fireworks season.
RSPCA research has shown that 66% of animals are negatively impacted by private firework displays and 55% of pet and livestock owners dread fireworks season. Find out more information here: rspca.org.uk/fireworksImpact
This government needs to stop simply putting forward a wish list of things which it hopes to do and intends to do, and get down to the hard business of making the choices which are required to deliver for the people of the United Kingdom.” — Sammy Wilson MP
Time does not diminish loss. Today we remember the nine lives taken on the Shankill Road and all those affected by this tragedy. Lest we forget.
Why no media attention on terrorist glorification on Garvaghy Road?
Last night there was a concert on the side of the Garvaghy Road, the playlist of which has been studiously avoided by members of the media who have been on the road for a week now.
If terrorist songs were being sung on Drumcree Hill, I’ve no doubt that the great and the good would be tripping over themselves to condemn what happened.
But a performance of ‘My Old Man’s a Provo’ on the Garvaghy Road? Not a cheep from nationalism, the Alliance Party or the BBC.
The lyrics of the song include:
My dad has got me worried, I think he’s goin’ soft
There’s half a ton of fertiliser, stowed up in our loft
“Are you gonna be a farmer, dad?” I asked him just for fun
He said “Don’t be an eejit, pass the coffee grinder son!”
Why is it that laughing about the production of bombs and insulting victims passes without comment, in spite of the BBC and the Belfast Telegraph reporting on the acts which performed last night?
There is an obvious question for those who object to Orange culture on the Garvaghy Road: how can they oppose the presence of Orangemen while tolerating songs celebrating bomb-making?
And why is the media so keen to turn a blind eye