Write a commentMickey Brady, MP for Newry and Armagh has been speaking on the topic of Brexit at this weeks British Labour Party Conference in Brighton.
Speaking at a debate on Brexit and the role of the left during the British Labour Party conference in Brighton, the Newry and Armagh MP said “The people of the north did not consent to Brexit. We rejected it at the polls. The DUP and the Tories choose to ignore that democratic vote.
“There is no such thing as a good Brexit for Ireland, deal or no deal.
“Through Sinn Féin’s influence, we ensured the interests of the people of Ireland took centre stage in the Brexit negotiations, resulting in the Irish backstop and that must be maintained.
“The solutions to Brexit will not come from Westminster. The nationalist and republican people have rejected Westminster, realising it has never and will never act in their interests.
“Our future is on the island of Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement allows for a democratic pathway to a new, united Ireland through a referendum giving the people their say on their future.
“That new Ireland has to be radically different from the two conservative states that partition created. It has to be a progressive, modern, rights-based society in which tolerance and diversity are celebrated. It must end the discrimination faced by women, the LGBT+ community and others.
“Sinn Féin is committed to rights for all. That is why we have stood up to the DUP and put the rights of people at the heart of the current negotiations to restore the Assembly.
“Marriage equality, women’s reproductive rights and language rights cannot be vetoed by ultra-right religious minority just as Brexit cannot be imposed on us by a minority represented by the DUP.”
