Text of a speech to the AGM of the UUP East Antrim Constituency Association. Sir Reg Empey MLA
Expenses
One of the consequences of the return of “normal politics” was that the media and general public would begin to look at the broader picture of how government operates, what legislation is introduced and how the elected representatives themselves perform. So it is not entirely unexpected—particularly in light of the debate that has been raging across the rest of the United Kingdom—that the issue of salaries and expenses is now in the spotlight.
We should never forget the fact, however, that for decades, political representation in Northern Ireland required great personal courage. To be a councillor or an MP (or an Assembly Member in 1972-75 or 1982-86) was to expose oneself to the genuine risk of violence or even death.
Back-up and support for representatives most often came from family members; because it became a trust thing.
And let me be frank about it. The Union would not have survived had it not been for the courage of those representatives who were willing to stand up and be counted; who were willing to put their heads above the parapet and take a public stand on our behalf.
And through it all they were helped by family members manning the home phones and providing other forms of support. Most of the constituency work had to be done from home or from fortified offices in “safe” areas.
Unsurprisingly, that culture has lingered on since 1998. We never knew from month to month if the Assembly would survive. People still opted out of politics as a profession because they weren’t sure how long the job would last.
Many MLAs, across all of the parties, have continued to pick key staff from within their immediate family or from the wider family within their party. That is understandable in our fledgling structures.
But it is also understandable, again given the stories in the wider UK media, that the general public may regard it as some sort of gravy train.
I agree that we have to have greater transparency; part of which could embrace a register in which all staff is listed, along with any family and party connections.
But let’s not pretend that MLAs or MPs can simply advertise for staff in a newspaper. It’s not that simple. They need people they can trust. They need people who are broadly sympathetic to the views of the party they represent. They need staff that can be trusted by the constituents who come into the constituency offices. They need staff that can be trusted by their colleagues in the Assembly. Political representation is like no other job; and employment requirements for their staff cannot be the same as those for most other jobs.
There are serious issues to be addressed here and I believe that the Assembly itself should address them—openly and honestly. Political parties in Northern Ireland are having to come to terms with a new way of doing business—and most of us are doing our best to adjust.
But I won’t take a lecture from Sinn Fein on this matter, while they try and pretend that they are on a higher moral plain than the rest of us. They may limit their collective salaries to £21,000, but they divert the rest of the money into their central coffers. In effect, they are using public money to fund and subsidise their party. Furthermore the track record of the republican movement, for example the Northern Bank robbery, illustrate their hypocrisy.
Salaries
The public are also rightly concerned about the proposed increase of pay for Assembly members. The basic wage is already considerably higher than that of the average wage in NI. Add on the extra pay for a variety of committee posts, the subsidised canteens and the generous mileage allowance and MLAS are adequately paid.
The rumour of a 16% increase is highly unlikely to be accepted in the life time of this Assembly.
In a recent letter to the Prime Minister I have set out my concerns about the damage being done to the reputation of politicians and political institutions by inflated salaries and expense claims; and by the fact that we are seen to be our own paymasters. I have urged him to consider an alternative which covers all of the devolved bodies across the UK, along with Parliament itself. For we really must move away from a system that allows MPs and MLAs etc to set their own salaries while, at the same time, imposing restrictions on the salaries of those in the public sector.
But it does have to be remembered that if we want to attract quality people into political careers then we have to match the salaries they could get in those other careers. But in return for that salary we have to ensure that the level of representation is of the highest standard.
Every aspect of income and expenditure must be transparent. The public has a right to know the employment and educational backgrounds of their elected representatives. They have a right to be made aware of how they perform their duties as a public representative. Government is very fond of laying down rules for others. We must expect to be examined as well.
Policing and Justice
Irrespective of the findings of the latest NIO poll, I detect very little evidence within unionist circles of support for the devolution of these powers, either now or in the near future. Many believe (including, I suspect, a clear majority of the DUP’s own MLAs and members) that it would be a step too far and too soon.
We are still at the settling in stage of this present Assembly and it has become increasingly clear that there are teething problems. The devolution of policing and justice, which would involve some very controversial matters, could easily overload the structures. It would certainly put a huge strain on the relationship between the DUP and Sinn Fein.
There is, too, an economic consequence of devolving those powers. We do not know the outcome of a whole series of enquiries, and the possible legal and financial consequences thereof. We do know, however, that they would have to be met from the cash allocation that accompanies the devolution. Which could mean that any unanticipated drain upon that allocation would have to be met by reducing PSNI manpower and services.
The other point to remember is that with the ongoing activities of the Historical Enquiries Team, the Consultation Group on the Past, the Victims’ Commission and possibly even a Truth and Reconciliation Body et al, there are some very difficult questions to be addressed and answered. And there will be matters which will strike very close to home for at least one party on the Executive Committee.
It would be advisable, therefore, to continue with some sort of “neutrality” on policing and justice matters for the time being; particularly in the event that evidence is unearthed which points the finger at an individual connected with the party that has the policing/justice portfolio.
The heartbeat of policing and justice in a democratic society is transparency. How can we guarantee that transparency if those with very personal and potentially embarrassing vested interests are also in control of the key departments? The Secretary of State and Prime Minister risk destabilising and maybe even toppling the Executive Committee if they insist on pushing through this aspect of devolution too early.
I must also stress that the Ulster Unionist Party will not be bailing out the DUP and Sinn Fein by participating in some artificial ministerial position. We have already seen too much carve-up and compromise by the Chuckle Brothers as they try to disguise the fact that they are morphing into the Fudge Family.
Review and Reform of UUP
After ten long months of road shows, an emergency EGM, and about a dozen or so meetings of our Executive Committee, we have finally completed our Review of the party. Every aspect of how we do our business has been examined. Every facet of our communications, electioneering, selection, internal discipline, representation and presentation has been looked at.
We have unanimously endorsed a series of Standing Orders, Party Rules and Association structures. We are transforming ourselves from an umbrella organisation into a modern, effective and relevant political machine.
It won’t mean an overnight return to the top. There remains a huge task before us. But what I have discovered over the past ten months is that there remains a rock-solid grassroots core of members who are proud of this party and determined to get it back on its feet and back to business again.
The UUP has been good for Northern Ireland; and good for the Union. While others took the easy options and found somewhere safe to shelter, we led from the front. We faced down internal and external opponents and we championed the Union and unionism—often acting alone.
The DUP may claim to have delivered something better: they may claim to have got it right. But we seem to have ended up with the same Agreement and same structures, albeit with far more Sinn Fein representation than when we were the lead party of unionism!
Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson have spent 25 years undermining the UUP. They spent from 1997 to March 2007 undermining our efforts to push Sinn Fein towards democracy and the IRA towards decommissioning. Yet today, Dr Paisley is Tweedledum to Martin McGuiness’ Tweedledee. And as I see it, Peter is busily working away in the background to shove the boss into the wings so that he can have his moment in the spotlight!
But having been the bridesmaid since 1979 he now seems willing to enter into a civil partnership with Martin. But Peter, be careful what you wish for—you may end up with Caitriona Ruane as your sidekick!
As a party we have had our difficulties. But I have never ever doubted that there is a continuing need and role for the Ulster Unionist Party. That’s why we embarked upon the review. That’s why we finished the review. That’s why we will implement the review.
We will build this party from the grassroots up. We will enhance its credibility, and make it an even more attractive alternative to the DUP. We will reach right across the electorate to win back old votes and win over new votes.
The Lesson of Dromore
We proved that with hard work on the ground and enthusiastic campaign teams we could steady our core vote.
Along with that was our belief that we could win against the odds and against the predictions.
And we kept our seat.
That’s the primary lesson to learn from Dromore.
The DUP say that we won because of transfers! That’s the whole point of transfers, Peter! Indeed, I don’t remember the DUP complaining when it was UUP transfers which pushed some of their MLAs over the winning line last March!
And let’s be quite frank. The rate of transfers from the TUV and Alliance wouldn’t have mattered all that much had we not secured almost 25% of first preference votes.
The DUP expected us to lose that election. The media expected us to lose. There are only two golden rules in elections:
• Win a seat
• Do better than expected (even if you don’t win)
We did better than expected. We won the seat. Dromore was a good day for the UUP; but we have to ensure that it is only the first of a series of good days.
The Role of the UUP
I accept that there is a very strong case for Opposition in the Assembly. The DUP failed to deliver the individual and collective accountability they promised.
But there is no provision for a formal and funded Opposition in the present structures. No finance available for research purposes. No mechanisms for channelling Opposition legislation or recognising Opposition spokesmen. In other words, there is no such thing as the Official Opposition: and therefore no role for an Opposition party.
There is no-one in the DUP, or Sinn Fein—or indeed any other party—that I would wish to see in the post of Health Minister or even at DEL! There is an important job to be done in both those areas and I think that we are the best party to do that job.
But we will not be suffocated by any Executive line. And we will not be bound by any DUP/SF DUP carve-up of office. Rather we want to see a genuine power-sharing administration.
We reserve the right to challenge every aspect of every policy. And we ask the members of our relevant committees to challenge every aspect of every policy we present. Where we think something is wrong, ill-considered, not properly costed or unlikely to succeed, we will say so. And we will seek to create a consensus around alternatives.
On the wider stage we will produce and promote a raft of socio-economic policies geared towards meeting the needs of a modern, vibrant, economically attractive Northern Ireland.
We will remind people of our roots, legacy and achievements. This party created Northern Ireland and we secured the Union under appallingly difficult circumstances.
One of our urgent tasks is to help rebuild the economy of Northern Ireland. A weak economy leaves unionism politically vulnerable. It is in our long term interests to keep growth and prosperity at the top of the agenda. This will lead to stability, a more rewarding life for all, and the ability to look our fellow citizens in the rest of the UK in the eye and say that we are making our contribution to the economic wellbeing of the entire British economy. We will only be able to thwart nationalism in England, Scotland and Wales if we are strong and moving towards self sufficiency.
We will build relationships with pro-Union parties and interest groups across the United Kingdom and jointly fight to protect and promote the constitutional integrity of the UK—against the independence tendencies in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland; and also against a Euro project which threatens to impose an unnecessary and sovereignty-destroying constitution upon us.
But above and beyond all else we will ensure that the pro-Union electorate has a pro-Union party they can be proud of.
• A party that unambiguously champions the Union rather than a “little Ulster”
• A party that promotes power-sharing rather than party-political self-interest
• A party that promotes values based on an inclusive vision rather than values fuelled by fear and sectarian head-counts
• A party that promotes a Northern Ireland at peace with itself and secure in the United Kingdom.
That party is the Ulster Unionist Party.
An Ulster Unionist Party back on its feet; back in business; and ready to deliver once again.