DUP says 'pan nationalist grouping' abandons political consensus as soon as they have a majority
Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance abandon any attempt at consensus politics as soon as they are able to form a majority, a DUP MLA has claimed.
David Brooks was responding to recent attempts by the three parties to oust education minister Paul Givan over a trip to Israel – as well as an SDLP motion on the removal of cross-community protections in legislation to remove Executive ministers.
Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole said his party’s proposal was an attempt to deal with a “crisis in accountability” which he said threatened the future of the Stormont institutions. The motion said ministers couldn’t be removed from office “even when found to have breached the Ministerial Code or broken the law” – neither of which Mr Givan has been found to have done.
However, his party did not respond to questions from the News Letter on the implications of removing the requirement for cross-community backing before a minister can be removed.
The SDLP was also asked why it backed an attempt to exclude the education minister without either of the criteria outlined in its motion having been met.
East Belfast MLA Mr Brooks said, “What we see from Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance within the Northern Ireland Assembly is concerning, but not surprising.
“In local government they have followed the same pattern where they happily abandon any attempts at consensus politics as soon as they are able to command a majority.
Their idea of ‘holding ministers to account’ is a kangaroo court with ministers facing calls for resignation not because there is evidence of any rule or law being broken, but because they won’t comply with diktats issued by this pan-nationalist grouping.
The events in the Assembly should act as a warning to anyone about so-called ‘reform’ driven not by a desire for better governance, but to stamp any dissent from a left-wing and anti-unionist consensus they wish to impose.”
The News Letter also asked the SDLP how would expect unionists to trust nationalists to behave responsibly and fairly if cross-community protections were removed, given their approach to Mr Givan. They did not respond.