Carla Lockhart MP, the Democratic Unionist Party representative for Upper Bann, has called for urgent government intervention to protect Northern Ireland's key industries from collapse.

Following a direct challenge to the Chancellor in the House of Commons, Mrs Lockhart warned that local businesses and workers are facing a "daily reality" of crippled supply chains and stalled construction projects. She noted that the severity of the situation has led major industrial sectors to take to the streets in protest.

"What we are witnessing in Northern Ireland is not an accident, it is the direct consequence of a Government that has repeatedly failed to act," Mrs Lockhart stated.

"Empty shelves, stalled construction sites and crippled supply chains are no longer warnings on the horizon, they are the daily reality facing businesses and workers right across Northern Ireland. With major industries now taking to the streets in protest, the scale of government failure is impossible to ignore." The MP highlighted the specific impact of financial pressures on the local economy, arguing that policies decided in Whitehall are failing to account for the unique challenges facing Northern Ireland.

"Workers and businesses in Upper Bann and right across Northern Ireland are paying the price for decisions made in Whitehall that take no account of the real-world damage they cause," she said.

"Fuel duties are crippling our agriculture, logistics and supply chains. Punitive carbon taxes are hammering local industry in a way that is deeply disproportionate and completely unjust. Meanwhile, vital sectors that underpin both our economic resilience and our national security are being pushed to the brink."

Mrs Lockhart concluded by outlining a specific set of demands for the Treasury, insisting that the current economic trajectory is unsustainable for the region.

"The Chancellor cannot continue to look the other way. We need fuel duties cut, carbon taxes scrapped, and robust, targeted support delivered to the industries that matter. These are not requests - they are necessities. Northern Ireland cannot afford further delay, and I will not stop making that case until this Government takes the decisive action our people deserve."