Commenting on last Monday’s debate in the Assembly on the North South Ministerial Council TUV councillor Mel Lucas stated:

“While our MP, Rev McCrea, seconded the motion questioning the value for money of the North South Ministerial Council he did not speak or vote on the day. I realize that there may be many innocent explanations as to why that was. However, what can be said for certain is that the debate itself demonstrated the powerlessness of the DUP at Stormont.

“We often hear DUP politicians talk about the “Unionist veto”. Monday showed that Sinn Fein holds an equally powerful veto. They were able to block the DUP motion, displaying yet again that nothing can happen at Stormont without the agreement of Republicans.

“Why, therefore, did the Rev McCrea and David Simpson bring the motion before the Assembly? Well, there are not many times that I would share the analysis of Sinn Fein/IRA but their comments during the debate were interesting and, frankly, revealed the reality behind the DUP stunt.

“As Barry McElduff put it, this was “all about Jim Allister and Traditional Unionist Voice”. Another Shinner stated that the party was simply “positioning itself for the European elections”.

“We can expect further posturing in the run-up to the European election June. I would warn Unionists not to be DUPed by such foolishness.”