UK Government must deliver promise on unfettered trade – Little-Pengelly
The DUP agreed the Safeguarding the Union command paper with the previous government in 2024, which allowed it to return to the Stormont powersharing Executive at Stormont.
However, the unionist party says that all of its concerns over post-Brexit trading arrangements have not been met.
The Windsor Framework, and its predecessor the Northern Ireland Protocol, require checks and customs paperwork on goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.
Under the arrangements, which were designed to ensure no hardening of the Irish land border post-Brexit, Northern Ireland continues to follow many EU trade and customs rules.
DUP MLA Ms Little-Pengelly told the gathering in Lisburn that unionism faced 'new challenges'.
She said: 'Chief amongst them is the imposition of the sea border within our own country.
'A division between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom that no unionist can ever truly accept.
'It is not enough to celebrate our culture if we do not stand to defend it.
'The union is not a distant idea.
'It is our political, economic and emotional home.
'A border in the Irish Sea undermines that home, it divides our people, disrupts our trade and dilutes our identity.'
She added: 'The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland made a clear and unambiguous promise to fully restore unfettered internal trade across this United Kingdom.
'That was a promise to the people of Northern Ireland.
'They must deliver it.'
The deputy First Minister said it was a time for 'confident and positive strong unionism'.
She described the Orange Order as a 'great unifier across many strands of our unionist conviction'.
Ms Little-Pengelly said: 'Unionism must work together outside of the Order.
'This is a time for vigilance, but it is also a time of opportunity.
'Division brings fracture and weakness, it is unity that brings strength.
'We must recognise that the bonds which pull and bind us together will always mean we have so much more in common than what can ever divide us.'
She added: 'Let us recognise the talents and abilities across all shades of unionism, and by using all such, our case will not only be strengthened, but indeed undeniable and irresistible.
'Let me be very clear, the might of the case for our continued union will always be our biggest strength.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Belfast Telegraph
37 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
There's an onus on O'Neill and Little-Pengelly to turn up together and defuse flashpoints... and to stop ducking interviews
The strange collapse of a planned joint press conference by Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly at last week's Open could not have come at a worse time. It was meant to enhance the profile of Northern Ireland, the Executive, the peace process and the future to a global audience as well as mop up some responses to current issues which had occupied considerable public attention.
Metro
37 minutes ago
- Metro
Trump warns 'there'll be no Europe left' before immediately hitting golf course
Donald Trump is following up his dire warnings about the future of Europe by cracking on with the real business of his trip to Scotland: a few rounds of golf. The US President landed at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire yesterday evening for his first UK visit since returning to the White House in January. It took only a few minutes after stepping off Air Force One for Trump to begin predicting doom for the West due to immigration. He told reporters: 'On immigration, you better get your act together. You're not going to have Europe anymore, you've got to get your act together.' The President claimed nobody had entered the US last month before describing the situation faced by Europe as a 'horrible invasion'. His British mini-break will begin with a day of golf at his Turnberry course on the Ayrshire coast. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here. More serious discussions with leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Scottish First Minister John Swinney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will come on Sunday and Monday. Police in Scotland are bracing for a major operation as protesters begin to gather at a number of spots Trump is expected to visit on his brief tour. The presidential motorcade, containing more than two dozen vehicles, passed a small protest on its way into Turnberry yesterday evening but demonstrations are expected to swell today. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Later, the entourage will travel east across Scotland to Aberdeen and another of Trump's links courses near Balmedie, on the coast north of the city. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, who met the President at Prestwick just after he arrived at around 8.30pm yesterday, said Trump's first words after stepping off the plane were: 'It's great to be here, I always love standing on the soil of Scotland.' Murray added: 'I said, 'I hope you're looking forward to a bit of downtime with some golf this weekend', and he said, 'Yes'. 'And I said, 'Well, we've whipped up a bit of a wind for you to make it a bit more competitive', and he went, 'I'm looking forward to it'.' Trump is expected to meet with von der Leyen tomorrow in an effort to thrash out a trade deal between the EU and the US. More Trending The EU has been one of the biggest targets of the tariff campaign from the White House since dramatic new trade measures were announced at the beginning of April. Starmer is understood to be travelling to Scotland on Monday for a meeting with the President, where the finer details of the UK's trade deal with the US are likely to be discussed. Speaking at Prestwick yesterday, Trump said: 'I like your Prime Minister, he's slightly more liberal than I am – as you probably heard – but he's a good man. He got a trade deal done.' He also suggested the meeting would be taking place this evening, which is not believed to be accurate. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: New arrest in cold case of mum killed 30 years ago walking home from shops MORE: Trump says 'I'll give you a list' of Epstein associates and 'I'm allowed' to pardon Maxwell MORE: Donald Trump's Scotland visit branded 'cynical circus' by his nemesis in land battle
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
The dizzying fall of the King of Davos
Klaus Schwab was the undisputed 'King of Davos' for 55 years. But when his downfall came, it was swift. The 87-year-old founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which holds the annual conference in the Swiss alpine ski resort, fought until the end. But over two days in April, beset by allegations of misusing WEF funds, manipulating research and inappropriate behaviour with staff, he was forced out of his personal fiefdom. 'He had the chance to step back 10, seven, five years ago. But he hung on,' one WEF insider told The Telegraph. On Sunday, the early findings of a second investigation into the WEF were leaked. They alleged Mr Schwab had misspent WEF money and manipulated research for political reasons, including rigging data to make Brexit look like a failure. Mr Schwab also allegedly put his crotch in front of a female staffer's face, splurged $50m on a luxury villa, and ran up £836,000 in expenses that were not sufficiently linked to WEF activities. His credibility now lies in ruins and the future of Davos is openly questioned. Some see the investigation in response to a whistleblower complaint as a barely disguised attempt to push Mr Schwab out. For his part, he denies any wrongdoing. 'He wasn't perfect, but he has been stitched up because he wouldn't go when people wanted him to go,' one person close to the organisation told The Telegraph. Other insiders fear that the push to remove Mr Schwab will come at too high a reputational cost to the WEF itself. 'They've used a sledgehammer to crack a nut,' one said. It is an astonishing fall from grace from the former executive chairman, who was awarded an honorary knighthood by the UK in 2006. The German-born professor built his empire from humble beginnings, establishing the WEF in 1971 as a forum for policymakers and CEOs to discuss global issues. Over the years it mutated into a magnet for world leaders, a capital of fevered dealmaking, a byword for elitism and a lightning rod for conspiracy theories. The title of his book 'The Great Reset' – about how the pandemic could remake global economies – has become shorthand for online extremists convinced that plots to create a world government are hatched at Davos. Mr Schwab, the quintessential 'Davos Man,' was front and centre every year as he welcomed a galaxy of heads of state and government. They included prime ministers and presidents as different as Angela Merkel and Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi or Baroness May and Vladimir Putin. At this year's gathering, in January, there was no Sir Keir Starmer, French president or German chancellor in Davos. The demise of Davos has often been predicted, but rivals are circling. China has the Boao Forum, colloquially known as 'the Asian Davos', and Saudi Arabia has launched the Future Investment Initiative, which is dubbed 'Davos in the Desert'. The rumblings of what would become an avalanche of revelations about Mr Schwab began with a 2024 investigation by the Wall Street Journal, which accused the WEF of having a workplace culture that was hostile to black people and women. Women were allegedly sidelined after becoming pregnant, while two staff members used the n-word, according to the Journal. The WEF said at the time it had zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment and disputed the allegations in the newspaper report. Staff alleged that Mr Schwab was inappropriate and made unwanted suggestive remarks, while one female staffer claimed he put his leg on her desk with his crotch in front of her face. She said Mr Schwab told her he wished she was Hawaiian because he'd like to see her in Hawaiian costume, which the WEF fiercely denied. Others told the Wall Street Journal that attractive women were chosen to meet international delegates. There was a slang term for such encounters – 'white on blue action' – a reference to the different coloured lanyards worn at the conference by officials and famous guests. Former staff at the non-profit were reported to have set up a WhatsApp group called 'WEFugees' in which they shared horror stories about their experiences. A former staffer told the Journal: 'We promote inclusion and improving the state of the world and women's issues but do the opposite.' Mr Schwab complained bitterly about the Journal's reporting but was determined to craft a graceful, prolonged exit from the WEF, which generates about $500m a year. The WEF's founding bylaws state 'the Founder himself designates his successor', and stipulates he or 'at least one member of his immediate family' is on the board of trustees. Mr Schwab's plan was to move to a role as non-executive chairman and retire in stages, picking his successor. But then whistleblowers sent a letter in an email to WEF trustees, including luminaries such Al Gore, the former US vice-president, and cellist Yo Yo Maa. It accused Mr Schwab and his wife, Hilde, of misusing WEF funds. It said Mr Schwab had used company funds to pay for private massages, and he had redirected WEF resources and staff in a vainglorious bid to get nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 'This was not a WEF initiative, but a self-driven effort disguised as organisational work,' the letter said. It complained about Hilde Schwab's spending of about $50m on Villa Mundi, a mansion next to WEF headquarters overlooking Lake Geneva. It alleged she controlled access to the property and that one entire floor was reserved for the couple's exclusive use, according to the Wall Street Journal. They denied the allegations. In April this year, a WEF audit committee recommended opening an independent investigation into the new allegations. Mr Schwab went on the attack. He wrote a furious email to the committee demanding the probe be dropped within 24 hours and threatened to file a criminal complaint. The gamble backfired. After the WEF board insisted the investigation had to go ahead, Mr Schwab resigned 48 hours after sending his email. He insisted his legacy was 'well established', adding he had received 'the highest national distinction from numerous countries for my efforts in helping economic developments, reconciliation efforts and even avoiding a war'. After a two-hour emergency meeting of trustees, Mr Schwab's ouster was announced on April 21. He was swiftly replaced by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the WEF's vice-chairman and former Nestle CEO. A law-firm led independent investigation began in accordance with Swiss regulations. Last Sunday, some preliminary findings were published in Switzerland's SonntagsZeitung newspaper. Law firm Homburger has looked into some £836,000 in expenses submitted by Mr Schwab and his wife which, it was reported, were not sufficiently linked to WEF activities. Mr Schwab sent suggestive emails and had 'embarrassing interactions' with younger WEF staff, according to the leaked findings. The newspaper revealed he had told staff that the UK 'must not see any improvement' in the WEF's annual Global Competitiveness Report, which ranks countries on productivity. Otherwise it would be 'exploited by the Brexit camp', he wrote. In the 2017/2018 report, the UK's ranking improved from seventh to fourth after a change in methodology. The final report published in 2017 – a year after the Brexit referendum – showed the UK had dropped one place to eighth. It was not the only example of political manipulation of research, according to the newspaper. Mr Schwab has denied all the allegations. The once all powerful king of the globalists was reduced to a chuntering complaint from the ruins of his empire. He accused the WEF board of breaking a media silence pact over the investigation, but now faces a nervous wait until the official end of the probe later this year. 'I feel deceived,' he huffed on Sunday. 'I am not available for further investigations.'
