Member's statement: Institutional Reform: 'Democratic Renewal' Proposals

Member's statement by Ms Kate Nicholl on 7 September 2026.

MLA: Ms Kate Nicholl
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 7 September 2026
Type: Member's statement
Business: Members' Statements
Heading: Institutional Reform: 'Democratic Renewal' Proposals
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5669617

Text

One of the reasons why I stay in politics is that I do not want my children to move to Australia; I want them to stay and have a future here. I want every child to be proud of living here. The stories that have filled the airwaves over the past few weeks give concern to, I think, everyone in Northern Ireland, but especially to parents who are wondering what sort of society their children will grow up in. The conversation today — old parades disputes, a defaced memorial, flags glorifying a loyalist killer and schools being refused integrated education status — is a reminder of how much our past still impacts on our now. Meanwhile, so much of what needs to be said is not being said when it comes to what is happening with our health services, now that we cannot move on with plans for transformation; the gridlock in infrastructure; the strain on higher education; and what is happening with SEN. There are gaps in so much. There are gaps in what dominates the headlines and gaps in what people need us to talk about. Something needs to change. That is why, as Northern Ireland's cross-community party, Alliance has, for decades, championed reforming the institutions and how we operate. It is welcome to see that there is more conversation about that, with the Prime Minister saying that the Secretary of State has been empowered to take forward discussions on reform, and more and more politicians talking about it. Our 'Democratic Renewal' proposals would make Stormont more stable, effective and accountable by reducing vetoes and modernising the Assembly and Executive structures. That is not a threat to anyone; it is actually the only way that we will get on with doing what we need to do. We need to look at so much. It is about not just stopping stop-start government and ending the ability to collapse the institutions, but making sure that every person, regardless or their identity and long-term aspirations, is valued and has a clear say. There is so much that we need to do around changing how the Assembly works. It strikes me that the easy bit of work is to focus on what we disagree on — the divisions that we still hold in this place — rather than on how to move forward. If we were to reform the Assembly and change how the structures operate, we could hold those differences and have discussions and disputes, but, every time that something like Drumcree came up, everybody would not automatically be worrying that the Assembly will collapse again. How do we operate as a normal place with that threat constantly hanging over us? We need to move to a new politics that delivers for everyone in Northern Ireland and, rather than focusing on what divides us, focus on how we can work together. That is the only way that we will ever move forward.

491 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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