Debate contribution: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers

Debate contribution by Mr Patrick Brown on 3 August 2022.

MLA: Mr Patrick Brown
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 3 August 2022
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Assembly Business
Heading: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4177964

Text

I rise today in support of electing a Speaker. As we have done on both previous occasions, Alliance will support both nominations. Despite these being my first comments in the Chamber, I cannot help but feel a profound sense of déjà vu. We are back here, yet again, with unguarded pessimism regarding any positive outcome from today's debate. Indeed, it is beginning to feel a bit like Groundhog Day, with recriminations across the Chamber this afternoon, reflecting the limited progress that we have had since the May election, despite the overwhelming mandate given to us by the people of Northern Ireland to form an Assembly and set up a new Executive. Every day now, I encounter situations in my constituency where people are losing out as a result of there not being a Government in Northern Ireland. We cannot go on like that. My preference is to get Stormont restored. In Northern Ireland today, four out of five political parties have said, without preconditions, that we will form an Executive. Only one of the five parties — the DUP — is refusing to go into government. It is wrong in a democracy that one party representing maybe 25% of the people is able to veto the establishment of a Government. That is not democracy, and it has to change. I confess that those last few sentences are not actually my words. They were, in fact, the words of DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, on 'Question Time' in March 2019. The only change that I made was swapping the words "Sinn Féin" for "the DUP". I ask the party to my right what has changed since March 2019. The DUP leader is, of course, right: it is undemocratic for any party to hold a veto. That is why our party has outlined proposals to put an end to ransom politics, reform our institutions and deliver a functioning Government for the people of Northern Ireland. If the do-nothing DUP does not like that, it can voice its disagreement from the Opposition Benches. We can start by reforming how we elect a Speaker. The current system, whereby 71% of Members can vote in support of a Speaker only to be met with DUP deadlock, is no longer tenable. We must move to a system that allows weighted majority voting not just for the Speaker but for any Executive veto and the use of petitions of concern. We must also reform how we appoint a First Minister and deputy First Minister, allowing any party unwilling to hold either of those positions to pass it on to the next largest party. That is why, in case today's motion were to have been debated, Alliance tabled an amendment focusing on political reform. Until this place can operate in a mature and democratic fashion, our ability to deal with situations like the cost-of-living crisis will be curtailed. It is not just a crisis; it is a scandal. The term "crisis" is reflective of the impact of external macroeconomic factors, whether that be disrupted supply chains due to war, the pandemic or Brexit, loose monetary policy or energy insecurity. We are somewhat limited in what we can do, as a devolved Administration, to address the causes of the crisis. The scandal, however, comes from our inability to make the strategic and financial decisions necessary to help those suffering as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. The blame for that scandal rests solely on the shoulders of the DUP. On previous occasions in the Chamber, the DUP complained about how the protocol had increased prices in M&S. Well, my constituents are not concerned about the prices in M&S. Far too many of them are instead worried about relying on food banks and choosing between heating and eating, real people suffering as a result of narrow and selfish politics. I urge my colleagues in the DUP to do the right thing today: elect a Speaker and allow us to get an Assembly up and running so that we can get to work and do what we were elected to do.

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

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