Debate contribution: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers

Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on 27 October 2022.

MLA

Mr Gerry Carroll

Party at the time

People Before Profit Alliance

Date

27 October 2022

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Assembly Business

Heading

Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4178199

Read the official Assembly record

Text

It was once famously written that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. To that I would add, "and then the DUP", because recent history has shown that, no matter how much misery it inflicts on our communities and no matter the very real damage caused by its actions, it continues its song and dance about the protocol. The reason that the DUP has continued that cycle is very simple: its focus on the protocol is designed to divide people; to ramp up tensions; and, ultimately, to shore up its own vote. It believes that its grandstanding and political brinkmanship will distract from the fact that it has failed people on all sides during the cost-of-living crisis, but people are not easily fooled. The party that initially backed the protocol is now telling people that the North should not be treated differently from the rest of the UK. Those same fundamentalists had no problem with the North being a special case when it came to the denial of abortion rights, equal marriage and minority language rights. Their hypocrisy is absolutely glaring. It is the same hypocrisy that saw a sitting DUP Minister have the gall to accuse the Tories of creating instability in the North, despite his party's refusal to govern. Let us remember that it was the DUP that for years propped up the Tories, who waged economic war on working-class people across these islands, giving handouts to the wealthy and austerity to the rest. It was the DUP and other parties here that voted through the cruel welfare reforms that are now wreaking havoc in hard-hit households. It was the DUP that, even last week, voted with Liz Truss's Government when her party colleagues were fleeing the sinking ship. Indeed, the DUP and the Tories are two sides of the same grubby coin. When the Assembly last sat, the DUP assured us that it could still govern and that it could help tackle the cost-of-living crisis because Ministers were in place, but the actions of those Ministers have given little comfort to countless working-class people who are struggling to make ends meet. Having a sitting DUP Education Minister did not protect substitute teachers who found that they had not been paid their wages this month and who could still be waiting for money as we approach Christmas. There will be no solace for teachers who face having their already meagre wages cut for taking industrial action in the face of skyrocketing inflation. Similarly, as people struggle to heat their home or keep the lights on this winter, they will not look to the record of the DUP Economy Minister for any comfort, because they will find no attempt made to tackle the obscene profits of energy companies operating here. They are raking it in while people suffer. Despite all that calamity, people still have some hope. Just this morning, I spoke with Housing Executive maintenance workers who have been on the picket line for 12 weeks and who have just announced a further four weeks of strike action. The Economy Minister here voted against the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Amendment) Bill that would have afforded those workers greater legal protection in the dispute. Many are worried about the effects of being left in the lurch. They put themselves at risk during the pandemic to maintain people's homes, yet they are being offered an insulting 1·75% pay offer. It is being described as a rise when, in fact, it is an actual cut. One in three of those workers rely, disgracefully, on food banks, and many are paid just 6p above the minimum wage, despite the vital work that they do. I met maintenance workers this morning ahead of this sitting. They requested that I personally ask the Sinn Féin Communities Minister to intervene in the dispute to ensure that those workers get a proper pay rise. The money is there, and they should be paid what they are worth, which is a lot more than what is currently being offered. I make a similar appeal to the outgoing, and any incoming, Health Minister, and it is this: we cannot endorse health workers getting a real-terms pay cut. Health workers are preparing for strike action in the near future, possibly in the weeks ahead. There are more disputes to come: Royal Mail workers are out on strike, as are BT and Openreach workers and council workers, not just for themselves but for everybody who relies on their services and deserves much better than what is being currently offered. We must be clear that today's sitting is ultimately about the intransigence of the DUP. I urge it to stop playing with people's lives and get back into government. Make no mistake about it, however: we know that a restored Executive will not be the silver bullet that some may suggest. We know that previous Executives refused to act in the face of the cost-of-living crisis and that their previous economic agenda did nothing to uplift our communities. I have, frankly, no faith in politicians to deliver without a fight, but I have every faith in workers in our communities, and in ordinary people's ability, to keep up the pressure and deliver real change. Election or not, I will return to the picket lines in coming days, because, ultimately, that is where real change in our society happens: on the streets, in communities and outside workplaces, with people taking action.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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