Water Charging Fiasco is an opportunity to show alternative prospectus Empey tells Armagh UUP
Speaking to Ulster Unionists in Armagh this evening Ulster Unionist Leader Sir Reg Empey said that the anger over water charges is an opportunity to galvanise public opinion about the clear benefits of devolution. Sir Reg said,
“Everybody here will have already received their brown envelope from the government explaining the proposed changes to how we pay for water. Like scrooge before Christmas, the Direct Rule Ministers have nothing to give the people of Northern Ireland other than more bad news.
The burden of paying water rates should not be resting on the shoulders of ratepayers here. The reason we are having to pay is because of the Government’s chronic lack of investment in infrastructure over the last 30 years. People can see that they are being asked to pay to repair something that has deteriorated through no fault of their own and they are quite rightly angry.
Water charges are but one of the litany of poor decisions and ill thought out policies being foisted on the people of Northern Ireland by unaccountable direct rule Ministers.
Currently with the two largest parties at loggerheads and ignoring the real and pressing needs of everyone in Northern Ireland, regardless of their political persuasion or religion, it is little wonder that the public are exasperated as politics here goes from one Groundhog day to the next.
In the weeks ahead we in the UUP have an alternative prospectus to show a weary public. Our prospectus is one of working in a meaningful partnership with other centrist parties to forge coming ground, common interests and a common strategy to deal with the manifold issues and challenges that, together and under the devolved institutions, we can tackle with integrity, accountability and without the sectarian mumbo-jumbo that has held this country back for decades. This is something that the two largest parties can never do. How can they expected to act in the interests of everyone in Northern Ireland when they can’t even talk to each other at a most basic level?
The failures and bitter aftertaste that Direct Rule leaves in our mouths presents us with an opportunity to show the public that there is still a political party left in Northern Ireland that seeks the best for all, not just the few. That there is a political party left in Northern Ireland with a proven track record of working in partnership with moderate nationalism to deliver results for the country as a whole. That there is still a political party that wants to nail down the issues that are preventing a return to devolution as quickly as possible so that we can put an end to Direct Rule and get back to working for everyone in Northern Ireland. That party is our Party. It is what makes us unique and it is the message that we will be taking to every doorstep in Northern Ireland.”