After successive failures as secretary of state, we need someone who is impartial in the role

It is deeply unwise for the secretary of state to sail into the turbulent waters of local politics with both bow doors wide open (‘Poots will make things more difficult by not taking first minister role,’ June 7, see link below).

Many people here will find his Christophobic comments offensive.

What is the point of a locally elected assembly if he is prepared to overrule it and impose what he euphemistically labels ‘progressive’ policies which are frankly a disguise for the values of paganism?

The Tory party has thrown the family and traditional marriage of one man and one woman in a life long commitment under the bus and the consequent social costs to the Treasury are enormous.

It is not his business to instruct people how or for whom we should vote.

What his clear from his blundering interference in party politics and the deliberate imposition of the NI Protocol is that the Union has a diminishing value to the present Conservative and ‘Unionist’ Party.

He has burned his boats with a vast number of people here who will not be told by an English overlord with no local electoral mandate, which values we should hold and which parties we should support.

His endorsement of some may prove to be the kiss of death. As yet another failure in this office he needs to be replaced with a SoS who respects the need for impartiality.

Ronnie Crawford, Dromore, Co Down

Brandon Lewis: Edwin Poots will make things more difficult by not taking first minister role

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