Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has said the political institutions in Northern Ireland must be reformed to bring an end to “ransom politics” and prevent future collapse of the Stormont Assembly.
Speaking at her party’s conference in Belfast, she welcomed comments by Tánaiste Micheál Martin acknowledging the need for reform for to future sustainability.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs made the comments at the party’s conference last night.
She told delegates that it was now “time for action, not words.”
Alliance has been advocating reform to enable parties other than the largest nationalist and unionist parties to fill the roles of first and deputy first ministers.
Under current rules, because Alliance refuses to designate itself as either unionist or nationalist it is not eligible to fill either of those positions, no matter how many Assembly members it has.
Irish and British governments have the power to make the case for reform
Ms Long said that above all the Irish and British governments, as joint guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, have the power to make the case for reform.
“Instead of time after time, responding to those who up-end the institutions by pandering to their demands, the focus must be on ending their ability to do so,” she said.
“Otherwise, far from protecting the agreement, they are condemning devolution to death by a thousand collapses.”
The Alliance leader said her party’s proposals for reform enshrine the right of parties to be in government based on the strength of their electoral mandate, and remove the right of any one party to deny the people of Northern Ireland a government.
“They allow those who wish to get on with the work of government to do so and those who don’t to sit it out if they choose: no-one could be excluded, but no-one party could exclude everyone else,” she said.
Pointing out that the Stormont Assembly has failed to operate for five of the past seven years, she said action is required to prevent any repeat.
The devolved institutions were suspended as a result of a series of separate resignations and protests by Sinn Féin and the DUP.
“Furthermore, our mandate – our votes and our voters’ votes – must be treated as equal to everyone else’s,” she added.
“You cannot talk with credibility about equality and fairness while deny equal franchise to almost a third of the Assembly and the third largest party in Northern Ireland.”
The east Belfast MLA said it was up to Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to act.
“Now, conference, many of you will know already that the Secretary of State is a football referee but fewer may be aware that he is also a keen weightlifter,” she said.
“Well, I suggest that he needs to do some seriously heavy lifting on reform of the institutions, sooner rather than later, unless he wants to permanently carry the blame for future collapse.”
The party’s deputy leader, Stephen Farry MP, also spoke of the need for reform in his conference speech.
He said it was “perverse” for any party to have a veto on power-sharing.
