TUV public meeting to be held at Castlederg this Friday night

A SIGNIFICANT public meeting organised by the TUV in West Tyrone will be held in Bridgetown Orange Hall this Friday, October 23 at 8pm. The meeting is also important as the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) candidate for West Tyrone in the Assembly election next May will be announced.

The leader of the TUV, Jim Allister KC, MP will be the main speaker.

The last time Mr Allister addressed people in West Tyrone at a major public event was in April, 2022 at an anti-protocol rally at Castlederg, crucially in the run up to the 2022 Assembly election, said Stevan Patterson, spokesman TUV West Tyrone.

He added: “ Four and a half years later only the TUV has remained constant in opposition to the NI Protocol and later Windsor Framework by telling the truth. The DUP reneged on election promises made in the 2022 Assembly election in that they would never return to the Executive at Stormont while the divisive Irish Sea border remained, breaking the solemn election covenant of the ballot box in January, 2024 with the DUP’s ‘Safeguarding the Union’ deal, while claiming they had removed the internal border.

“This has been shown to have been clearly a lie as the internal border hardens each and every day causing trade diversion within the UK, and costing everyone in the pocket by higher prices and less choice. It also makes the people of Northern Ireland second class UK citizens as we have to follow EU rules we do not make or cannot change. Quite simply, this democratic deficit by EU rule that is evil union rule is an abomination.

“And for what, a few pictures and pieces of silver as Stormont continues to fail the people, with our crumbling health service, infrastructure and education all getting worse and ministers completely out of touch to real world issues. They can’t even agree a budget, the basic requirement of any government. Meanwhile MLAs are awarded a 27% pay rise for such failure.

Mr Patterson urged people to turn out at the meeting

“For those who believe in this great United Kingdom it will be a chance to hear from the leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), Jim Allister KC, MP. On Friday night it will be a chance to hear the true voice of Unionism from the TUV that by trust and resolve will always give strength through equality of Union.