No Ifs or Buts, Northern Ireland needs Devolved Government on March 26th
In a statement today UUP Leader Si Reg Empey restated the UUP’s pledge to the people of Northern Ireland:
“We will go into government on March 26. We have been listening to you. And you have told us loud and clear – you want a devolved government on March 26 that works for you.
Other parties are promising that devolved government will be “a battle a day”. That is what the DUP and Sinn Fein will give to the people of Northern Ireland - not a hard-working government that puts the people first, but a daily mud-slinging session.
While other campaigns were about papering over divisions within their own ranks, our election campaign has been about government.
The UUP knows that Northern Ireland deserves better than squabbling. We will put Northern Ireland first. Others will deliver logjam - we will make government work for you.
In the UK, politics is fought firmly in the centre ground. Northern Ireland is no different. The centre ground is where progress takes place. It is made up of people from all backgrounds who want to see devolved government work, who want normal politics here. The UUP is committed to working with others to deliver this.
I’m a unionist - and proud of it. I believe that as part of the United Kingdom, we can have a peaceful, stable, inclusive Northern Ireland that everyone can call home.
I don’t want Northern Ireland to be governed by Direct Rule Ministers giving more and more of a say to a Dublin government - neither of whom are accountable to the people of Northern Ireland. I am not content to be a spectator in my own country. You have been speaking to us on the doorsteps and you feel the same way.
I believe that those who govern Northern Ireland should be accountable to the people of Northern Ireland. That is why we need devolution. That is why the Ulster Unionist Party is committed to making Stormont work. We have no ifs or buts. Northern Ireland needs devolved government on 26th March.”