We're stuck with the Assembly . . . and it's no laughing matter
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
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A few evenings ago the Minister of Health at Stormont, Michael McGimpsey, was to be seen on the television news offering his audience what he termed a 'joke'.
"I'll tell you a joke," he said. "Sammy Wilson's the Finance Minister." Now this is all part of the game. Mud-slinging is part of politics. The minister was on his party's platform at their annual conference. But I noticed there was a muted reaction from his audience. In fact I would describe it as an uneasy giggle.
You know, as I know, why it was uneasy; for both ministers are colleagues in the same administration. They are meant to sit round the table, discussing policy and reaching a consensus which, afterwards, they should be committed to defending in public - whether that consensus reflects their own particular policy preferences or not.
If they are unhappy with it, of course they have a remedy: they can resign. But this does not happen at Stormont. There is no Cabinet, in the sense of a governing group of ministers united behind agreed policies and colleagues they are committed to support. There is no collective responsibility. In fact they openly attack each other's policies.
At the beginning the seriousness of this behaviour was partly concealed by the newness of the Executive. It was assumed things would settle down. But they have not. Ministers slag each other off and cling to their portfolios, running them as rival fiefdoms, so that there is a Sinn Fein policy on education, an Ulster Unionist one on health, an SDLP one on social development - and a DUP one on finance.
Prime Minister Blair observed one morning on the radio that there was one basic fact about democracy: "You can get rid of your government if you don't like them." But not in the brand of democracy you pushed through at Stormont, Mr Blair. We are stuck with them. And they are stuck with each other!
No wonder the Executive, several times since its creation, has been under fire for refusing to meet, sometimes for months on end. In view of what they say about each other outside the meeting room, you may imagine what the atmosphere must be like inside it. This matters, especially at this moment, because the Executive is about to be put under new strains.
The first is financial. As Gordon Brown leaves office, the Treasury will be more than £800bn in debt - 800,000 million, say it slowly - and the Stormont exchequer is an expensive toy. It now costs the Treasury some £7bn a year to support. Whatever government takes office at Westminster next spring, drastic expenditure cuts will be imposed.
The scope for cutting the size of the structure is bound to be discussed. Peter Robinson is committed to this, but he faces strong opposition within the Executive, who suspect his motives are not economic alone.
As it is, the show on the hill itself is costing between one and two billion pounds a year to run. Finding an acceptable explanation for Stormont having 14 ministers plus an MLA for every 16,000 voters when the Welsh do with one for every 50,000 and the Scots one for every 40,000 may prove difficult in the straitened circumstances a new government will face in six or seven months' time.
The bloated size of the Assembly and its appurtenances was nodded through in the haste for peace. A former Secretary of State, Paul Murphy, was once asked how long was spent, in negotiating the Agreement, on discussing the financial basis of devolution. "Fifteen minutes," he said. The time for second thoughts may be nigh.
Beyond the mechanics are the political uncertainties - particularly of unionism. Is the UUP's partnership with the Tories one of conviction or merely convenience?
The general election will test the extent of the support on the ground for Lady Hermon's frosty dismissal of Sir Reg Empey's initiative. Like Sir James Kilfedder before her, she has been an assiduous MP - but she supports Labour in the lobbies.
They may be facing a decade in opposition, though, while a UUP member, if returned, could be in Government.
It is incumbent upon Lady Hermon (pictured left) to explain her self-denying ordinance. If she were to contest North Down as an independent at the general election, the unionist vote would be split three ways, with obvious implications.
In other times, unionist MPs used to be attacked for living in London and paying insufficient attention to their Northern Ireland seats.
On one occasion, when the late Sir Knox Cunningham, the member for South Antrim, moved house from Kent to Gloucestershire, a wit in Ulster observed that he wished to be nearer his constituents in North Down. Is the UUP boot currently on the other foot?
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Northern Ireland is such an expense to England that they would love to leave. How can any unionist who by and large professes to be a fiscal conservative be happy with one third of the NI population being in the employee of government with most of these jobs being make believe jobs.
Stormont is also a joke with one MLA for every 16,000 people while in Canada is is at least 60,ooo per MLA as it is in Wales. I would say that when Cameron becomes PM of England you can expect to see the feeding through pulled away and pretty soon after that the Republic will be the only alternare for all of NI to join as a United Ireland.
Posted by James Doyle | 03.12.09, 18:06 GMT
This has been on the frontpage since november 3.
Posted by Paul | 25.11.09, 01:17 GMT
Having watched a current affairs programme on BBC1 last night, I can only conclude that there is no hope for true politics in N.Ireland.
Mr.Allister was like a long playing No record. How an educated man can appear to be so intransigent and stupid is way beyond me.
Sammy, of course is good for a giggle, as always, but he is not in government for laughs(or is he?)
David Ford comes across in his usual measured way and Gerry Kelly was more than able to cope with our new Dr.No.
I pay attention to N.I. politics and am greatly impressed by Dawn Purvis who appears to have more common sense than the rest. Why do the BBC not give this lady more exposure. I believe that this woman is more in touch with ordinary people than the Landed Gentry party(UUP) or the No Surrender parties(DUP/TUV)
Posted by HC | 18.11.09, 10:14 GMT
The system would work, if our 'representatives' would work together. But they refuse to because they are parochial and less than enlightened (all of them).
I do agree the system needs to change though because we cannot get rid of anyone. With the same bigots from 20 - 30 years ago running the show what else would you expect?
Posted by M S | 14.11.09, 16:35 GMT
The system would work, if our 'representatives' would work together. But they refuse to because they are parochial and less than enlightened (all of them).
I do agree the system needs to change though because we cannot get rid of anyone. With the same bigots from 20 - 30 years ago running the show what else would you expect?
Posted by M S | 14.11.09, 16:34 GMT
I stopped reading this article when I reached the phrase "slagging each other off". Far too colloquial for me and therefore not worthy of reading.
Posted by Andrew the Good | 07.11.09, 15:22 GMT
With the Southern regime, its equally bad financial situation, the ever increasing difference between rich and poor and the blatant racism of many southerners towards immigrants, it doesn't really offer anything better than the devil we know.
At least with Stormont we can make a change, if the electorate get some b@lls and stop being sectarian junkies. Forget about borders for the next 20 years and lets concentrate on creating a N.Ireland of equals. Who knows which jurisdiction will appeal most by then. At least we may have voted on issues that matter such as education. When those republicans who want a Grammar school education for their kids realise that their votes may destroy that hope, things will hopefully start to change.
Posted by Paulo | 06.11.09, 14:02 GMT
an unsustainable and dysfunctional little statelet doomed to failure since its creation............. and rotten to its core !
Posted by seymour bunting | 05.11.09, 10:14 GMT
Jim - The ROI cannot keep themselves! The very idea of a United Ireland is totally financially abhorrent to them for the forseable future.
We are stuck with the current situation until I am old and grey.
Either that or we will all be nothing more than effective counties of a European super state?!
One thing you can always be sure of, unlike in the Stanglers song, there is always the rain.
Posted by Stephen Millar | 04.11.09, 17:31 GMT
Well done Eric for saying as a commentator what Bob McCartney warned of while a serving politician. One hardly needs to remind the public what they did to Mr McCartney for having the temerity of pointing out the folly of the Stormont system. The question for the public now to answer is what they will do at the next election?
Posted by Parental Alliance for Choice in Education | 04.11.09, 08:34 GMT
"...and the Stormont exchequer is an expensive toy. It now costs the Treasury some £7bn a year to support. Whatever government takes office at Westminster next spring, drastic expenditure cuts will be imposed."
What you really mean is Northern Ireland is itself an expensive toy. A toy Great Britain and her government sorely wish they could get rid of. It might be the only (ex)-colony in the world where the occupying power cannot leave, not because of a lack of will, but because she is being systematically bled dry.
A sorry situation indeed.
Posted by Wolfe Tone | 03.11.09, 16:36 GMT
The so called province of "Ulster" ( Well six counties of Ulster ) has the highest dependency on public sector employment in the UK. A whopping 30%.
Britain has twin strategies to uphold this Orange state;
1. By force of arms
2. By force of finances.
When the financial umbilical chord is cut, there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" in this little Orange state.
Most folks there will have to go out and find real jobs.
This artificial statelet was doomed from the very beginning.
Maybe a united Ireland won't be to bad after all.
Posted by Jim | 03.11.09, 11:33 GMT