I’m actually rather impressed with Sir Reg and his little team these days. I admire their new-found determination in standing up to the assembled masses of Agreement-Correctness emanating from the NIO and Capitol Hill. Although the esoteric arguments as to why they are doing it (e.g. Ken Maginnis’ dispepsic ramblings on this morning’s Today Programme) will be lost on most of the Westminster and Washington establishment.
Reg is correct to point out the dysfunctional nature of the Assembly. It has achieved nothing of any great consequence. The rumbling sores at the heart of Northern Ireland government are nowhere close to being healed. The greatest sore is that of education. Sinn Fein is treating the electorate with contempt on the matter of selection and funding of prep departments.
Long and short if the Assembly is so dysfunctional and so incapable – what hope is there for it in overseeing the highly contentious issues of policing and justice? Reg is absolutely right to point this out. Ironically, he’s behaving more like a level-headed Conservative on this matter than the leader of his sister Party.
The vast majority of people here couldn’t give a damn about the devolution of policing and justice. They are perhaps in agreement that a deal should be done – just so that we can be spared the endlessly circuitous crisis talks. However, politicians have an ethical obligation to elevate themselves, just occasionally, beyond populism.
If the SDLP and Alliance had any political sense they might support Reg. Then we might just see a triumph of common sense. However, there’s precious little of that in Northern Ireland politics.
Stop Press: James O’Fee’s Perspective
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