Northern Ireland MP Sorcha Eastwood hits back after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces plans for 'painful' budget
A Northern Ireland MP has hit back at the Prime Minister after he told the country that the Government’s forthcoming budget will be “painful”.
Sir Keir Starmer asked the country to “accept short-term pain for long-term good”.
In a speech in the Downing Street rose garden, the Prime Minister claimed his Government has done more in seven weeks than the Conservative government did in seven years.
But he warned “things are worse than we ever imagined” because of a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances, claiming to have found out last week that the Tories had borrowed almost £5 billion more than the Office for Budget Responsibility expected.
But the comments prompted an angry response from Alliance Lagan Valley MP Sorcha Eastwood.
Speaking on X, she said: "It isn't enough to tell people that things will be sh**- they know, they are living it! Where is the vision? The UK lost its way a long time ago and is in danger of not recognising it. We need a leader to inspire, not someone telling us how crap it is- how do we make it better!"
Meanwhile, UUP MLA Steve Aiken also gave his reaction.
“Today the Prime Minister stated what is very obvious to many of us - that much needs to be fixed and reformed,” he said.
“However, here in Northern Ireland, we are still waiting for our Programme for Government, with challenges in health, education and policing being sidelined with a lack of any prioritisation being disguised by soundbites and platitudes from the Executive Office.”