Robinson and Elliott clash

Rodney Edwards • Published 25 Feb 2011 09:00 0 Comments

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WITH just weeks to go until the election, some political parties have been criticising the way the Northern Ireland Assembly works.

Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott has called for the creation of an opposition in Stormont and the end of the mandatory coalition arrangement by 2015.

Mr. Elliott believes the current system "does not work" because Sinn Fein and the DUP "have chosen" to put their own parties "above the overall interests" of Northern Ireland.

Speaking at a business breakfast in Londonderry, Mr. Elliott accused the two parties of "running a two-party carve-up rather than an all-party coalition".

"They stand accused by us, among others, and we have plenty of evidence. If Sinn Fein/DUP want to change, if they want to deliver rather than survive, if they want to put the country first, let them speak out, today, and back this proposal. It's about acknowledging the current system does not work, and we, in the Ulster Unionists, have a simple, workable solution," he said.

While the TUV's Fermanagh South Tyrone Candidate Alex Elliott has also called for urgent change to the Assembly, he says his party is unable to wait for "four more years of failure" before an opposition is set up: "Although Tom now accepts the need for change, he continues to persist with the push for four more years of failure. His stance has too much in common with Maurice Morrow's quote of the year; 'Not in the lifetime of the next assembly'.

Mr. Elliott, a cousin of the Ulster Unionist leader, added: "Change is needed now, not in four years time."

"It would have been much better, if Tom had come out straight away and said he was prepared to go directly into opposition with the TUV after the May election. Yes, an official opposition should be properly resourced but the need for an opposition is more important than the demand for a financial package to support it," he said.

But in an interview with The Impartial Reporter this week, First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson described Mr. Elliott's proposals as "very sad".

"I think it's very clear the meeting the Ulster Unionists had with the Secretary of State and indeed, Tom's speech to the business breakfast last week, that they are preparing themselves for going into opposition, which means effectively, the Ulster Unionists are heading for opposition. I think it's very sad that people are opting out when very clearly it's very important to have the strongest level of unionist representation at the highest level possible.

"I don't think it's my role to do rating of any other leader, it's only important as to what his party thinks about him. But I am glad he has moved the Ulster Unionist Party to adopt many of the DUP's policies. I see his policies about reforming government are in line with what the DUP have been advocating for 13 or 14 years, so it's good they are moving on to the same ground we are on and I hope that means we have a higher level of cooperation in the future," he said.

Despite his frequent public criticisms of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr. Robinson said there was "very little difference" between it and the DUP.

"I think the man from mars looking down upon us would have a very difficult job in distinguishing the policies of the two parties. The only difference is that we do it better. And we are the biggest party and the only party that can beat Sinn Fein in being the biggest party in Northern Ireland."

On Alex Elliott running for the TUV in Fermanagh South Tyrone, Mr. Robinson said: "I think it's inevitable that we will have vote-splitters attempting to undermine the opportunity to have three unionists returned. The TUV are wreckers and they want to bring down the Assembly. They have already manifested that in the comments they have made in the past and while they try to disguise it for electoral purposes as wanting to change the assembly, everybody knows they want to wreck it."

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein Assembly Candidate Sean Lynch has accused the UUP of "attempting to drag back to unionist majority misrule, political immaturity and of shirking their responsibilities to ordinary people".

Mr. Lynch said: "The recent outburst by Tom Elliott is yet another example of the UUP's inability to accept the new political landscape. And given the performance of the UUP Health Minister in the past few weeks and his disappearing act in the face of his department stumbling from one crisis to another, many may not notice if the UUP departed from the Executive full-time. The UUP need to wake up and realise that Unionist majority misrule is a thing of the past, Sinn Féin have resigned it to the dustbin of history. Tom Elliott needs to look no further than this constituency last year when the combined forces of unionism and the SDLP failed in their attempt of installing a Tory as MP."

He added: ""Sinn Féin will stand by the Good Friday Agreement and not allow a dilution of the power sharing checks and balances contained within it. We will dedicate our energies to representing and assisting people at these difficult times. The UUP need to stop their messing about, and get on with the real job at hand of working with everyone in the executive and All-Ireland institutions to deliver for ordinary people on the ground," he said.

SDLP Assembly Minister Tommy Gallagher says he doesn't agree with Mr. Elliott's desire in setting up an opposition either.

"No, we definitely don't agree with Tom on that. Whatever happens in the future has to be done through a review of the Good Friday Agreement. Any changes would have to go through that process. I think the benefit first and foremost is the benefit to the community for having an administration in Stormont that works and delivers for both sections of the community," he said.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 24 Feb 11

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