Closest matches to “Calling it a final offer doesn't make it fair”
From other parties, ranked by how close their text is in meaning. Close in meaning is not the same as agreeing. Include UUP · Back to the release
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Government must accept realities of Northern Ireland’s finances:…
DUP Leader Gavin Robinson says the Labour Government must recognise Northern Ireland's fiscal realities and accept that its actions, including higher employers' National Insurance contributions, have made delivering public services harder. He made the point after questioning NIO Minister Fleur…
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Issue: Employers' National Insurance increase impact on Northern Ireland public finances Original release: Government must accept realities of Northern Ireland’s finances:… (opens in a new tab)
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Robinson - Reserve Funding Welcome but Reform is Essential
DUP Leader Gavin Robinson MP welcomes confirmation that the Executive will access £400 million from the Reserve for public services, while saying the funding is exceptional and backing line-by-line scrutiny of Executive budgets. He calls for root and branch reform of the Northern Ireland Civil…
Public finance and taxation Issue: £400 million Reserve funding for Northern Ireland Executive Original release: Robinson - Reserve Funding Welcome but Reform is Essential (opens in a new tab)
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Time to end dysfunctional politics and reform Stormont to deliver for the people of NI, says Bradshaw
Alliance TEO spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA says Covid Inquiry findings show instability is built into Stormont's structures and calls for reform ahead of an Alliance motion in the Assembly urging the Secretary of State to convene an institutional reform process.
Constitutional affairs Health Original release: Time to end dysfunctional politics and reform Stormont to deliver for the people of NI, says Bradshaw (opens in a new tab)
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SDLP challenges both London and Stormont ahead of Budget
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP calls on the UK government to reform the tax system – taxing unearned wealth, raising the tax‑free childcare allowance and scrapping the two‑child limit – and urges the Northern Ireland Executive to secure greater fiscal powers and a multi‑year budget ahead of the UK 2025
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: SDLP challenges both London and Stormont ahead of Budget (opens in a new tab)
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It’s time to take notice of the unsustainable way NI is financed
DUP MP Gavin Robinson warns that public service spending for Northern Ireland will fall by about £2,000 per household in real terms over three years, calling for debate on how Northern Ireland is financed. He cites the PSNI shortfall, the Barnett formula and the Fiscal Council.
Public finance and taxation Justice and policing Original release: It’s time to take notice of the unsustainable way NI is financed (opens in a new tab)
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Secretary of State should stand up for policing
DUP MLA Joanne Bunting calls on the Secretary of State to act on PSNI funding, warning that neighbourhood officer numbers could fall from 700 to 250 amid budget pressures and urging a short-term cash injection for policing.
Justice and policing Public finance and taxation Original release: Secretary of State should stand up for policing (opens in a new tab)
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Budget highlights need for reform and transformation again, says Eastwood
Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood says the October 2024 Budget highlights the need for political reform and public service transformation, citing unresolved long-term finances, unclear Shared Prosperity Fund funding and calls for a relative needs review and removal of the two-child benefit limit.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Budget highlights need for reform and transformation again, says Eastwood (opens in a new tab)
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Budget leaves Northern Ireland behind and fails to deliver for working families, says Eastwood
Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood says the UK Budget fails working families, small businesses and vulnerable people, welcoming the removal of the two child benefit cap but criticising the income tax threshold freeze and the lack of a hospitality VAT cut. She urges the Finance Minister to replicate…
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Budget leaves Northern Ireland behind and fails to deliver for working families, says Eastwood (opens in a new tab)
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Fiscal Council report confirms Northern Ireland not getting a fair deal, says Tennyson
Alliance Deputy Leader Eóin Tennyson says a Fiscal Council budget sustainability report shows Northern Ireland is underfunded compared with other devolved jurisdictions, and calls for a review of the funding formula alongside better spending decisions by local Ministers.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Issue: Fiscal Council Sustainability Report publication June 2026 Original release: Fiscal Council report confirms Northern Ireland not getting a fair deal, says Tennyson (opens in a new tab)
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NI Secretary of State Pressed for Urgent Action
DUP leader Gavin Robinson MP warns households and public services in Northern Ireland are under severe strain and presses the Secretary of State for urgent action. He calls for VAT cuts on heating oil and fuel duty, more Treasury funding for the Executive including the Education shortfall, and…
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: NI Secretary of State Pressed for Urgent Action (opens in a new tab)
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NI Secretary of State should release pay funding immediately
DUP Finance Spokesperson Gordon Lyons calls the Assembly recall a stunt timed with public sector strikes and says the Secretary of State should release the one-off pay funding immediately rather than tie it to tax rises or Assembly restoration.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Issue: Public sector pay dispute and Assembly recall to restore Executive Original release: NI Secretary of State should release pay funding immediately (opens in a new tab)
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PSNI needs adequate resources to deliver fair pay for officers
DUP MP Carla Lockhart says it is unacceptable that PSNI officers are seeking work abroad due to inadequate resources for fair pay, citing at least 50 applications to Australia and calling for long-term changes to Northern Ireland's funding.
Justice and policing Economy and employment Original release: PSNI needs adequate resources to deliver fair pay for officers (opens in a new tab)
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Revenue raising call only tinkers at the edges of NI budget shortfall
DUP South Belfast MLA Edwin Poots says the Secretary of State's push for extra revenue raising would only tinker around the edges of the budget gap, arguing the Barnett-based funding model must be fundamentally overhauled to stop Northern Ireland's public services declining.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Revenue raising call only tinkers at the edges of NI budget shortfall (opens in a new tab)
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Sir Jeffrey - " political considerations should not direct…
DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP says he assured new permanent Chief Constable Jon Boutcher of party support, and calls for checks to stop Sinn Fein's influence in senior police ranks. He also urges the Government to fund the PSNI's estimated £45m budget shortfall.
Justice and policing Public finance and taxation Original release: Sir Jeffrey - " political considerations should not direct… (opens in a new tab)
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Hanna urges Chancellor to provide fair funding settlement for Northern Ireland
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP calls on the UK Government to establish a fairer funding settlement for Northern Ireland ahead of the Budget, having written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves with six key asks. She also calls for multi-year budgets from London and Belfast and greater fiscal devolution.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Hanna urges Chancellor to provide fair funding settlement for Northern Ireland (opens in a new tab)
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bWilson – Treasury must step in to enable wage increase
DUP Finance spokesman Sammy Wilson MP welcomes the Government's acceptance of Pay Review Bodies' recommendations but warns there will not be enough money for teacher and police pay rises in Northern Ireland unless the Treasury intervenes over Barnett funding. He says the party will press the Prime…
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: bWilson – Treasury must step in to enable wage increase (opens in a new tab)
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Cross-community consent the foundation of political progress
DUP MP Carla Lockhart says restoring cross-community consent is essential for devolved government, arguing the Protocol has undermined consent and urging the SDLP to recognise the Irish Sea border's impact on trade and identity. She also rejects the idea that a restored Executive will solve public…
Constitutional affairs Economy and employment Original release: Cross-community consent the foundation of political progress (opens in a new tab)
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Robinson calls for a fair funding deal
DUP Deputy Leader Gavin Robinson MP says the case for a fairer Treasury funding deal for Northern Ireland has been made and now needs agreement. He calls for the UK Government's definition of need, used in Wales, to be applied here, citing a Fiscal Council projection of £1.2bn underfunding by 2025.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Robinson calls for a fair funding deal (opens in a new tab)
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Conference 2023 - Deputy Leader's Address
DUP Deputy Leader Gavin Robinson MP says the party will build on its legacy, protect Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom and push for reduced trade friction, a resolved democratic deficit and repaired constitutional harm, while condemning critics.
Constitutional affairs Public finance and taxation Original release: Conference 2023 - Deputy Leader's Address (opens in a new tab)
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Do not make life harder for the people who work
The DUP calls on Labour and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to ease the tax burden in Wednesday's Budget, urging income tax threshold changes now rather than in 2028, expanded Tax-Free Childcare, reversal of Agricultural Property Relief removal and employer National Insurance rises, and a cut to…
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Do not make life harder for the people who work (opens in a new tab)
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Secretary of State should deliver public sector pay settlement…
East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson, the DUP's Treasury spokesperson, urges the Secretary of State to act alongside Civil Service officials to secure a fair public sector pay award in Northern Ireland, accusing him of unwillingness rather than inability and of using workers as leverage against the DUP.
Economy and employment Public finance and taxation Issue: Secretary of State pay parity conditional on Stormont Protocol implementation Original release: Secretary of State should deliver public sector pay settlement… (opens in a new tab)
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Long calls on incoming Irish Government to make political reform here a high priority
Alliance Leader Naomi Long MLA writes to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, urging the incoming Irish Government to prioritise reform of Northern Ireland’s Assembly and Executive, citing its co‑guarantor role in the Good Friday Agreement.
Constitutional affairs Issue: Incoming Irish Government formation Original release: Long calls on incoming Irish Government to make political reform here a high priority (opens in a new tab)
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Robinson – time for HMT & NIO to recognise Barnett flaw
DUP Deputy Leader Gavin Robinson MP calls on the Government to recognise that the Barnett Formula fails to fund Northern Ireland's public services, regardless of whether the Executive is sitting. He says Treasury funding is falling, with England's spending rising 6% to 2025 against 3.6% in…
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Robinson – time for HMT & NIO to recognise Barnett flaw (opens in a new tab)
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Clarke – Treasury needs to address policing shortfall
DUP MLA Trevor Clarke says the Secretary of State cannot shirk responsibility for chronic policing underinvestment after the Chief Constable warned of a £141m budget shortfall. He calls for a review of the Barnett Formula and an uplift in funding based on assessed need.
Justice and policing Public finance and taxation Original release: Clarke – Treasury needs to address policing shortfall (opens in a new tab)
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SDLP to support Windsor Framework
SDLP MPs will vote for the statutory instrument on the Windsor Framework package, saying the deal's balance supports a clear path back to devolution despite serious concerns. Colum Eastwood MP says the party remains concerned about the Stormont Brake and will monitor its implementation.
Constitutional affairs Economy and employment Original release: SDLP to support Windsor Framework (opens in a new tab)
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Overspend further evidence of need for fiscal floor, says Tennyson
Alliance Finance spokesperson Eóin Tennyson says projections of up to £1 billion in Stormont departmental overspends show the need for a fiscal floor. He cites a Department of Finance warning and calls for a floor based on the Welsh Government model.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Overspend further evidence of need for fiscal floor, says Tennyson (opens in a new tab)
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Northern Ireland to bear the brunt of UK Government cuts, says Eastwood
Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood says Northern Ireland will bear the brunt of UK welfare cuts without the mitigations offered elsewhere, such as employability support, and calls on Labour to abandon austerity and seek revenue from billionaires and multinational tech firms instead, also urging a…
Social security and welfare Economy and employment Issue: Chancellor's Spring Statement to the House of Commons 2025 Original release: Northern Ireland to bear the brunt of UK Government cuts, says Eastwood (opens in a new tab)
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Complete reform of funding model needed: Robinson
DUP East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson says a Stormont return would not fix the budget shortfall, which he blames on Treasury funding, and calls for a complete reform of the Barnett Formula funding model, which he says is unfair to Northern Ireland.
Public finance and taxation Original release: Complete reform of funding model needed: Robinson (opens in a new tab)
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Hanna urges PM and Taoiseach to seize opportunity for progress
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP urges the Prime Minister and Taoiseach to refocus the British Irish relationship ahead of their meeting, prepare for constitutional change, and act on Stormont institutional reform and the Executive's budget impasse.
Constitutional affairs Public finance and taxation Original release: Hanna urges PM and Taoiseach to seize opportunity for progress (opens in a new tab)
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Industrial action a symptom of public service underfunding
The DUP's Gavin Robinson, Deputy Leader and East Belfast MP, says further industrial action by Education Authority workers shows Northern Ireland's public services are underfunded. He blames the lack of a budget, not political will, for obstructing fair pay awards and says the baseline Treasury…
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Industrial action a symptom of public service underfunding (opens in a new tab)