Why are we still stumping up for SF abstentionist MPs asks Elliott?
Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has called on the government to re-examine funding issues surrounding Sinn Fein’s abstentionist MPs.
For years, politicians here were getting paid without doing the job they were elected to do. People clearly had enough of paying out to absentee MLAs. Why should Sinn Fein MPs be any different?
In a statement, the Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA said: “The people of Northern Ireland are entitled to the best possible representation and the fullest commitment from their public representatives. The taxpayer of Northern Ireland is also entitled to see that money from the public purse is used wisely. Sinn Fein’s abstentionist anomaly flies in the face of both – this must be cleared up.”
He added: “Sinn Fein are sitting in the Assembly. Sinn Fein Ministers will be taking an oath to sit in the Executive. Sinn Fein has said that it intends to go onto the Policing Board. But Sinn Fein will not sit in the UK Parliament.
“So it’s okay to sit in Stormont and administer British rule in Northern Ireland through a devolved assembly. But it’s not okay for republicans to go to Westminster . This makes little sense. And it makes little sense for taxpayers, who also happen to be Sinn Fein constituents, to continue to pay them for the luxury of these absurd and incongruous sensibilities.”
He added: “Occasional quackery about the proximity of a United Ireland, and persistent humbug about going to Westminster may be all that republicans have left to remind themselves that they haven’t sold out.
“Republicans may need this comfort blanket but many people will be wondering why they’re picking up the tab for it. The Secretary of State is happy to praise the democratic credentials of republicans. What does he have to say about Sinn Fein’s boycott of the House of Commons?”
Concluding, he said: “Sinn Fein’s abstentionist MPs might just be the first picket line in history to continually get paid for refusing to work under the same conditions as everyone else. There are five constituencies in Northern Ireland that are receiving a lesser service from MPs who are getting paid handsomely out of the public purse. Government should resolve this situation immediately. However with their past track record of giving concession after concession to SF/IRA I’m not confident that government will have any new-found resolve to do anything about this unacceptable situation.”