DUP election broadcast farmer 'regrets' voting for Brexit

Charlie Weir, a dairy farmer from Waringstown, has changed his mind about Brexit

A farmer who appeared in an election broadcast by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said he now regrets voting to leave the European Union.

Charlie Weir said he fears that if the UK leaves without a deal agriculture in Northern Ireland will be "decimated".

He also said the backstop would be good for Northern Ireland, claiming it would have "the best of both worlds".

Mr Weir, from Waringstown, County Down, starred in the party election broadcast before the 2017 Westminster election.

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In it, the DUP leader Arlene Foster said: "Farmers, like Charlie, know the opportunities leaving the European Union will present as well as acknowledging the challenges.

"Only the DUP can secure the best deal for Northern Ireland as we leave the European Union."

Arlene Foster referred to Mr Weir in the DUP's 2017 election campaign

But fast forward to the present and the Waringstown dairy farmer sees none of the opportunities, only the challenges.

'Couldn't survive'

"At the beginning I voted to get out," Mr Weir told the BBC.

"I voted to leave but not knowing the whole story. And now if I was to vote again, I'd vote to remain, personally, from an agricultural point of view.

"Here in Northern Ireland, for example, we receive £300m in CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] funding from Europe and if farmers weren't getting that money they couldn't survive.

"Farmers would be at a loss."

So why did he vote to leave?

He said he had listened to the "stories that were told about the big red bus and all the extra money there was going to be for the health service and I thought that we could probably get a better deal".

Charlie Weir says his 2016 vote was influenced by Brexiteers' claims of extra money for the NHS

But Mr Weir no longer believes the UK will get a deal at all.

"I don't think there's going to be a deal at the minute and if we leave with a hard Brexit, I think that agriculture will be decimated.

"I think the only option left for the government at the minute is to go for an extension until they're in a position to sort things out, whether that [is] with Boris going for an election and getting a government that he can actually control with the power to vote things through."

'No effect on Union'

Mr Weir said he still supports the DUP on 90% of its policies - but not Brexit.

"I think the backstop is being overplayed big time, " he said.

"I don't see a big problem with the backstop. In fact, the backstop would have been good and it would have meant the best of both worlds.

"You'd have countries wanting to invest in Northern Ireland so that they would have traded with Europe and the UK.

"It would have brought a lot of inward investment and would have made Northern Ireland a very rich and wealthy country," Mr Weir claimed.

"The DUP are completely against the backstop. I, on the other hand, don't believe the backstop would have any effect on the union because... if there's going to to be an change to the union there has to be a vote."

'Creating barriers'

A DUP spokesperson said: "The DUP does not want to see the UK leave the European Union without a deal, but continues to work towards an agreement allowing a sensible and managed exit.

"The backstop seeks to facilitate north-south trade, but does so by creating barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain where we sell and trade three quarters of all our goods."

They added: "The backstop has been rejected on three occasions by Parliament and a new agreement is needed which can command support from both unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland."