Nesbitt Hits Back Over Ford's Stormont 'Reboot' Call

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt has hit back at Alliance leader David Ford's call for a "reboot" at Stormont.

Last week, unionist politicians walked out of fresh talks at Stormont in protest at a Parades Commission decision not to allow the Orange Order to march through a predominantly nationalist area of north Belfast on the return route of a 12 July parade.

Mr Ford said: "For too long now public services and the entire community have been held back as a result of the almost complete failure of leadership over crucial issues and the breakdown of functioning relationships between the two main political parties. It is clear to me that things must be done differently at Stormont.

He suggested the formation of a voluntary coalition between parties and subject to a vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Mr Ford also suggested replacing the Petition of Concern system with a qualified majority system and the creation of an opposition, free from the voluntary government.

He said there should be "greater co-operation between Ministers requiring them to work together under law," and that all Executive policies should be required to be "shared-future proofed".

But Mike Nesbitt claims his party has already been working on these issues for some time. "Has David Ford only just woken up to the fact that aspects of how business is done in Assembly are in need of reform?" he said.

"The Ulster Unionist Party has made serious contributions to the debate on two of these issues in particular, with Lord Empey attempting to have structures put in place to allow for a formal Opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly through his work in the Lords during the passage of the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill earlier this year.

"It was also our preference that the Assembly and Executive Review Committee carry out a review of the Petition of Concern, with the report completed in March this year. However we remain frustrated that this mechanism is increasingly not being used as it was intended – to ensure that one community does not ignore the needs of another – and instead being used more and more frequently to block issues that don’t particularly affect one community more than another.

"The issue of reform of Stormont was debated in detail by the Party Leaders in 2012. These discussions came to an end in December that year following the vote on the union flag at Belfast City Hall. We call for those discussions to be resumed as a matter of urgency. It appears few leaders disagree that the next step towards normalising our politics is a voluntary cross community coalition government with voters offered the choice of an alternative."

(IT/CD)