Debate contribution: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers

Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on 13 May 2022.

MLA: Mr Gordon Lyons
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 13 May 2022
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Speaker's Business
Heading: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4140023

Text

We have just come through an election, and my party has won a mandate. It is difficult for some other Members to respect, but that mandate is to not go into an Executive until we deal with the instability of the protocol and the long shadow that it casts. When it comes to the election of a Speaker, there has been a stark change of position by many of the parties in the Chamber. Of course, we tried to have the election of a Speaker in October 2019, and the leader of the Alliance Party, Naomi Long, and her team did not turn up to the Assembly that day. In fact, Naomi Long said, "We do not need a pointless talking shop." Her words. Michelle O'Neill, in 2019, opposed the election of a Speaker. She came today and talked about the need to have courage to get on with the job and said that we should not deny democracy, but, of course, for three years Sinn Féin stopped the Assembly and the Executive operating.
Mrs O'Neill said that she would not come to the Assembly until an Executive were established. Mr Eastwood said:
"there will not be an Executive formed today? If that is the case, we will be in no position to support a Speaker and allow for the undermining of the Good Friday Agreement".
What has changed —
I will give way in a minute. What has changed in that time? Maybe we should look at the words that came next from Mr Colum Eastwood. He said:
"we will be in no position to support a Speaker and allow for the undermining of the Good Friday Agreement through a unionist-dominated shadow Assembly." — [Official Report (Hansard), 21 October 2019, p5, col 2].
So, that is what has changed. Mr O'Toole has come here today and talked about "thwarting democracy". He has come here and talked about trust in politics. What does it do to trust in politics when parties were not prepared to elect a Speaker in 2019 but want to elect one today? The SDLP, Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party are completely inconsistent. They are all shaking their heads. They do not like it but it is the truth.
They refused —
That is the difficulty for the parties today. They had one position in 2019 and they have changed it. They are all shaking their heads, but it is the truth.
You all had the opportunity to come here in October 2019. The SDLP turned up and said that it was not going to do it.
Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party did not even turn up.
This is going to be a very difficult mandate if Members cannot even accept the truth when what happened is there in black and white in Hansard.
I will give way to Mrs Long.
The fact remains that the Member had the opportunity to turn up in October 2019 and did not take that opportunity to come here. Let me make it very clear: I want us to have devolution in Northern Ireland, but I want us to have stable devolution in Northern Ireland. I will make this point: imagine for a second that we had on the Irish border what we currently have in the Irish Sea, with checks, control posts and, in the future, under the official controls regulation (OCR), charges. If there were checks, control posts and charges on the Irish border, that would not be a recipe for political stability in this place, and it is not a recipe for political stability when those things are taking place in the Irish Sea. We need to see those changes. We need to recognise that Members on this side of the House have significant and serious concerns. I want to see that stable foundation. It is up to the Government to take action, but I hope that all parties in the House will recognise the concerns that exist and press for those changes that we all need to see.

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

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