Ben Habib

We can continue to howl at the moon over the EU's Irish Sea border within the UK, or we can try to make the best of the cards with which we have been dealt

Letter: We need a unionist leader who tells our community to change our ways

Ben Habib addresses delegates during the The Reform Uk Party's summer rally at Staffordshire Showground on June 23, 2024

'BBC interview on immigration was hostile' says Reform's Ben Habib

Ben Habib of Reform UK addresses delegates during the The Reform UK Party's summer rally at Staffordshire Showground on June 23, 2024 in Stafford, England

Ben Habib: 'We need a common culture to keep the UK together'

TUV leader Jim Allister and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage sat side-by-side on their first day in the House of Commons

Allister to keep Nigel Farage at a distance in Parliament

Ben Habib (left), then the Reform UK deputy leader, and TUV leader Jim Allister during the TUV general election manifesto launch at Dunsilly Hotel in Co Antrim on June 21

Call for Reform UK and unionist 'pact' in House of Commons to help Union

Morning View

Editorial: The TUV needs to be wary of getting too close to Nigel Farage

Ben Habib is a former Brexit Party MEP and until today the deputy leader of Reform UK.

Habib expresses 'long held concern' on Reform leadership

Richard Tice of Reform UK and TUV leader Jim Allister with Ben Habib and TUV councillor Ron McDowell back in March when the alliance between the TUV and Reform was announced

Ben Habib: For first time in years there is cause for optimism about the Union

Reform’s Ben Habib speaks at a press conference at the Conrad Hilton, London, January 3, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

'Reform UK are like fascists? That is utter garbage' says Ben Habib

Jim Allister celebrates his general election success with his elected councillors in Ballymena.

Allister celebrates election success in Ballymena

Party leader Jim Allister and TUV general election candidates at the launch of the TUV manifesto on Friday, June 21, 2024

TUV manifesto focuses on sea border 'constitutional crisis'

Jim Allister said Nigel Farage has made some "dubious utterances" about Northern Ireland.

Allister rejects Farage's views on Russia

The TUV and Reform UK leaderships signing a pact earlier this year, which was fundamentally undermined by new leader Nigel Farage on Monday.

Allister: 'no regrets' over Reform pact

East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson has received the personal endorsement of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Habib accuses DUP men of 'taking advantage' of Farage

Ian Paisley's election literature includes an endorsement from the now-Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Farage undermines TUV pact by endorsing DUP candidates

TUV leader Jim Allister pictured at Stormont who is the party's North Antrim candidate in the upcoming Westminster election

TUV/Reform UK can 'maximise' pro-Union vote says Jim Allister
A strong showing for the TUV in the General Election will maximise unionist support in Northern Ireland rather than undermine the pro-Union cause, Jim Allister has insisted.
David Young, PA

Richard Tice and Ben Habib of Reform UK and Jim Allister and Ron McDowell of TUV signed a pact for the general election earlier this year.

No Reform UK candidates to stand in Northern Ireland

Ballyclare anti-protocol rally poster

Ballyclare outdoor anti-protocol rally could be first of many in coming months

Reform UK's Ann Widdecombe says the Irish Sea border campaign "cannot be over while there is no proper Union"

Ann Widdecombe: 'Mammoth fightback' has started

An anti-Protocol rally in Dromore Co Down this Friday will be addressed by Ann Widdecombe, Ben Habib and Kate Hoey and Jim Allister. It is a joint TUV-Reform Party event.

NI Protocol: Ann Widdecombe speaking at TUV rally this Friday

DUP interim leader Gavin Robinson meeting the Labour Shadow NI Secretary Hilary Benn at a DUP business breakfast last week. How can Mr Robinson justify inviting Hillary Benn to a DUP fundraiser? Didn't he fly in from England?

Letter: DUP leader hit out at politicians flying in, then posed with one

Ben Habib is a former Brexit Party MEP and now deputy leader of Reform UK. He is a property businessman

Habib: DUP 'no longer political guardians of unionism'

Letters to editor

Letter: Ben Habib funded a pan-unionist court case for no personal benefit

'We stood on platforms with DUP members protesting against the border': In 2022, Jim Allister, Baroness Kate Hoey, Ben Habib and Jamie Bryson with the then DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson at an anti-protocol rally in Bangor

Allister, Bryson, Habib, Hoey: DUP missed chance to end deception over border

TUV leader Jim Allister, Baroness Kate Hoey, Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib and Jamie Bryson have penned a joint letter to the News Letter

DUP urged to 'tell the truth' about Irish Sea border

DUP MP Sammy Wilson, speaking alongside Gavin Robinson MP in the House of Commons, on a Brexit Withdrawal Agreement Bill debate in 2019, On the left is the then MP and DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds. Credit UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Wilson rejects DUP leadership vote

Letters to editor

Letter: Donors like Habib will probably seek influence on parties they fund
A letter from Arnold Carton:
Letters

Sammy Wilson MP at the DUP conference in October. If he and the fellow rebels felt strongly about the sea border, they’d quit the party, says Ben Habib. By staying in the DUP, they are endorsing the party turning a blind eye to the border

Ben Habib: DUP has made huge mistake in claiming Irish Sea border is gone

Ben Habib of Reform in front of a party billboard; Mr Habib has been one of the Protocol's starkest critics

Unionists hit back over DUP leader's swipe at his 'unelected detractors'

Morning View

Editorial: Unionist divide is sad but hard to avoid due to irreconcilable views

Ben Habib says he has previously given financial backing to both the DUP and TUV - but won't support the DUP again unless they change their stance on the Irish Sea border.

‘Honorary Ulsterman’ Habib pulls DUP cash

TUV leader Jim Allister speaking at his party conference in Kells, where he announced a deal with Reform UK for the General Election.

Allister: DUP and UUP have divided unionism

Richard Tice and Ben Habib of Reform UK and Jim Allister and Ron McDowell of TUV sign a general election pact.

Jim Allister announces election pact between TUV and Richard Tice's Reform UK

Jim Allister speaking at a previous TUV party conference in Cookstown

TUV is a party on the up, says leader Jim Allister

The DUP recently announced a deal with the UK government to re-enter Stormont. But it has led to debate as to whether the Irish Sea border still remains in place or not

Samuel Morrison: DUP members prepared to accept that 2 + 2 is not 4

The party has joined the government in misleading claims about the Windsor Framework, above. Had it described the threats to which it was subjected, people may have disagreed with Stormont return but would have understood (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Ben Habib: DUP should have cited pressure it faced, instead of hailing deal

A delegation of TUV members is canvassing for ex-MEP Ben Habib as he fights to secure the Westminster seat in the Wellingborough by-election in Northamptonshire.

TUV joins Habib on Westminster by-election campaign trail

John Larkin KC has given his independent legal opinion on whether Article 6 of the Acts of Union have been fulfilled and whether the Irish Sea border is removed.

IN FULL: Former Attorney General gives deal verdict

Former Brexit party MEP Ben Habib and Baroness Kate Hoey during an anti-protocol rally in Crossgar in 2022. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

Habib: 'Extraordinary' that Stormont to return based on unpublished deal

Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson speaks during a anti Northern Ireland Protocol rally and parade, organised by North Antrim Amalgamated Orange Committee, in Ballymoney, Co Antrim. Picture date: Friday March 25, 2022

'DUP members must neither be bought nor bullied'

Ben Habib

'Northern Ireland is totally a broken and dependent economy!'

Ben Habib speaks during an anti-NI Protocol rally in Ballymoney in March 2022. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Anti-NI Protocol campaigner Ben Habib to fight by-election for Reform UK

DUP Leader Jeffrey Donaldson, TUV Leader Jim Allister, Baroness (Kate) Hoey, ex MEP Ben Habib, the loyalist Jamie Bryson, during an anti-Northern Ireland Protocol rally in Bangor, Co Down in April last year

Letter from Baroness Hoey and others: We hope DUP still stands against EU law

The EU has made clear that the Windsor Framework is not up for negotiation.

EU silent on DUP sea border ask

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has reiterated the DUP's position on how any deal will be assessed by the party. Photo: Presseye/Stephen Hamilton

Donaldson: Stormont only works with cross-community consent

Ben Habib - who was involved in a legal case against the NI Protocol - says he can't see how Chris Heaton-Harris could give "any sort of satisfaction" on Sir Jeffrey's call on customs processes. Photo: Pacemaker.

Sir Jeffrey running out of time – Ben Habib

The then UK chief trade negotiator, David Frost looks on as Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the EU-UK Trade deal at 10 Downing Street, on December 30, 2020. How stupid they were to think the damaging effects of the Irish Sea border would see to its own demise. Ceding NI was far more likely. Photo: Leon Neal/PA Wire

Ben Habib: Johnson and Frost knew we weren’t leaving EU as one United Kingdom

The time taken by peers has rendered their conclusions irrelevant. The framework is happening. PA Photo: Jamie Wiseman/Daily Mail/NPA rota

Ben Habib: It’s taken peers months to highlight framework problems I did in days

It’s tradition: the Braid demonstration in Broughshane, Ballymena (Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia)

Sandra: July reminds us of a momentous, historic battle, is the Protocol next?

The Windsor Framework is no solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol. The red / green lanes do not ameliorate the trade barrier with Great Britain. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press

Ben Habib: The Irish Sea border disaster is here to stay, so let’s cut tax in NI

If their only use for the Union is as a source of cash, Northern Ireland will never succeed. Unionism is hopeless at painting a vision and having a plan

Ben Habib: Unionists should not go back to Stormont just for a quick buck

Parliament Buildings at Stormont. Executive parties appear to have agreed that they need an extra £1.1billion to restore powersharing, but, the DUP has insisted that its focus remains on amending the Windsor Framework and not new money.

Parties seek £1bn - but DUP focus on fixing Windsor Framework

Brexit campaigner Ben Habib speaking to the TUV party conference in Cookstown on Saturday. He said that the "establishment had already accepted that the price of Brexit is Northern Ireland and they were prepared to throw Northern Ireland under a bus" Photo: Oliver McVeigh/PA Wire

TUV conference: Do not return to Stormont, says the Brexiteer Ben Habib

TUV leader Jim Allister speaking during the TUV conference in Cookstown, Co Tyrone. Mr Allister criticised the DUP panel on the framework, adding that no unionist leader should need to consult "on the acceptability of such hostile annexation" Photo: Oliver McVeigh/PA Wire

Windsor Framework worse than the protocol, Jim Allister tells his TUV conference

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds a Q&A session with local business leaders during a visit to Coca-Cola HBC in Lisburn last month. Mr Sunak’s Windsor Framework deal with the EU ‘would yank NI away from GB’, says Ben Habib

Ben Habib: Effects of the Windsor Framework will be the same as NI Protocol