Tories in London don’t give a damn about people in the North – unionist or nationalist, says Martin McGuinness

THERE is huge anger across the community in the North of Ireland who voted against withdrawal from the EU at “the debacle” of the Brexit referendum, deputy First Minister McGuinness said in Dublin on Saturday.

Martin McGuinness was speaking at a Sinn Féin conference in Ballyfermot Civic Centre in west Dublin, where 200 Sinn Féin elected representatives and activists were discussing a 10-year all-Ireland strategy.

The fall-out from the EU referendum and the stance of the new government under Prime Minister Theresa May will force all sorts of people in the North to refocus on who is acting in their best interests, the most senior Sinn Féin figure in the Stormont Assembly said.

“We are clearly working with people in London who do not have the best interests of the people of the North at heart, be they unionist, nationalist or republican.”

Asked by reporters if there has been a growing openness to the idea of a united Ireland in the wake of the EU referendum result, the Foyle Assembly member said:

“There is huge dissatisfaction and alarm right across the business community, the community and voluntary sector, our universities and certain sections of our farming and agri-food industry.

“There is a growing view in the North that politicians in London don’t give a damn not just about the people in the North but about anybody in any one of Ireland’s 32 counties.”

The “Brexit” vote and a new Tory government in London show that “there are very challenging and difficult times ahead, Martin McGuinness said.

Saturday’s meeting was the first of over 40 taking place in the next week across the 32 counties.