Debate contribution: Holding Ministers to Account

Debate contribution by Mr John Stewart on 10 November 2025.

MLA

Mr John Stewart

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

10 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Holding Ministers to Account

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5225055

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was not expecting to be called, so I will speak to the motion briefly. As others have said, the motion is limited in substance, but I do not say that in order to take away from its intent. I am sure that it is well meaning, but there is not a great deal in it. I have said at the Assembly and Executive Review Committee — it is good to see so many members of that Committee here — that it is in that Committee that that work should be carried out. There has been a distinct lack of stability in this place for many years since the Assembly was founded. There is a distinct lack of scrutiny and, sadly, of public confidence,, and we see that time and time again. That is not necessarily the fault of the institutions; more often, it is the fault of the parties involved in bringing them down. I take the Member for North Belfast's point about those who lauded the Good Friday Agreement as if it were written on tablets of stone. We in the Ulster Unionist Party take great pride in our role in creating that document and in the peace and stability that came about on the back of it. Having spoken to most of its authors, I know that there was an expectation among them that those rules would evolve over time: even its authors would have accepted that, 25 years on, we would see change. For me, change has to come through the Assembly and Executive Review Committee. There is a great deal of work going on, and the proposer of the motion sits on that Committee with us. As has been said, we are looking at a great deal of work around Executive formation, cross-community voting and the nomination of the Speaker. That Committee has been tasked with that work. I would be concerned were it simply to be kicked to the First Minister and deputy First Minister, who are not here today, as they represent only two parties. Any successful reform of the institutions —

That is a fair point. The motion, though, goes further than that and talks about Assembly and Executive reform generally. That is why that Committee is well placed to do that. My second point — I made it in the Committee, and I think that others would agree — is that any changes to the institutions need to have cross-party input and agreement. We have seen what has happened in the past. On the three occasions when fundamental changes were made to the Good Friday Agreement, whether at St Andrews, at Stormont House or in 'New Decade, New Approach' (NDNA), not everyone was involved. Those changes were often made at times of crisis, and, at times of crisis, changes are made to pacify and suit those who have created the crisis, not to create the best forms of institutions.

Absolutely, yes.

I take the Member's point. We discussed that, and I have no problem with the public feeding into any process. That was an integral part of the Good Friday Agreement. However, I see us as the citizens' assembly. We are all nominated and elected by the people, and we all have a mandate to be here and contribute, and we are contributing those points to the Committee.

To come back to my point, previous changes that we have seen were, sadly, at times of crisis. What we saw on the back of that were bad decisions taken to pacify and placate those who created crisis. That is not a good way to do it, so I take some comfort from the fact that the Assembly and Executive Review Committee is working collegially. We are taking a good range of evidence. There is a collegial spirit in that Committee, and I genuinely believe that proposals for reforms —.

You have made a good job of giving your view, Mr O'Toole, on many subjects, and we appreciate that. However, the reality is that this is a non-binding motion on the First Minister and deputy First Minister, who are not here. Whatever amendment passes today, like most of the non-binding motions that we debate in the Chamber, nothing will come of it. Work is being carried out by the Assembly and Executive Review Committee. That is where the work needs to continue to take place, and I am pretty confident that we will see at least some of the changes that we want to see.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:43 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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