Sinn Féin’s political success “is based upon keeping people dependent on benefits and other hand-outs”, according to NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Mark Brotherston.
“It’s little wonder that the TD for Louth and some of his colleagues in Sinn Féin are so opposed to welfare reform”, Mark said. “The last thing Gerry Adams wants, is people in west and north Belfast, Derry, or any other deprived community in which the party is strong, getting off benefits, getting jobs and getting out of poverty. Sinn Féin’s political future is based on keeping people poor and making them feel helpless. If people weren’t dependent on benefits, they might not feel dependent on Sinn Féin and that would pose a terrible threat to the party. If deprived areas were prosperous, with plenty of employment, it would loosen Sinn Féin’s vice like grip.”
“Neither Gerry Adams nor any other politician has been able to articulate an argument for not helping people off dependency on benefits. Neither has Sinn Féin come up with a single idea about the type of welfare system it wants to see, as opposed to simply blocking reform. Its politicians stick to making snide remarks about Tories and mouthing platitudes about ‘protecting the vulnerable’. Make no mistake, there is no benefit for Sinn Féin in genuinely helping the vulnerable or helping people into prosperity. The party has a vested interest in keeping communities poor, vulnerable and dependent. That’s the reason it is the most intractable opponent of welfare reform which has seen unprecedented numbers of people return to work, in the rest of the UK.”