Elliott uses conference to call for Stormont ministries cull
ULSTER Unionist leader Tom Elliott has challenged the other political parties to support an immediate start to the process of cutting the number of Stormont departments.
Pointing out that it is one of the few things which all the parties agree on, Mr Elliott told his party conference on Saturday that nothing was being done to reduce the size of the assembly and executive.
He said that the review of the process for appointing a justice minister next year was an obvious opportunity to create a more efficient government.
In a speech to about 400 delegates in Armagh little more than a year after becoming leader, Mr Elliott savaged the performance of the assembly and executive of which his party is a member.
He told party members: “All parties have said they want to reduce the level of government structures at Stormont — well I say here today from the Ulster Unionist Party, ladies and gentlemen, now is your chance.
“With this ongoing review we have time to reduce the current number of government departments from say 12 to eight, a reduction of a third.
“I now challenge others to follow the lead of the Ulster Unionist Party — let’s cut that burden on our taxpayers, make ourselves more efficient and give the public value for their money.”
Mr Elliott told the party that it could not just wait for its rivals to make mistakes and hope to see voters flocking back to the UUP.
He said that it was for him to give them reasons to vote for the Ulster Unionists and that one of those reasons was the stalemated state of the assembly under the leadership of the DUP and Sinn Fein.
Mr Elliott said that there was self-interest at the heart of the executive, “serial delay on just about every decision”, indecision on key issues, and “no over-arching strategy for our ‘new’ Northern Ireland”.
He also highlighted the lack of an opposition.
“How long must we put up with this seriously deficient and flawed democratic process?
“How long do we keep telling people that: ‘It’s better than what we used to have’?”
Speaking about inquiries into Troubles atrocities, Mr Elliott said: “What we need is an agreed mechanism, rather than a series of processes that serve to re-write history, painting the state and the agents of the state as the villains.”
The UUP leader also warned that growing indifference to politics, demonstrated in falling election turnouts, should concern every politician.
“All of the assembly parties — and I really do mean all of us — should be very concerned by the sky high lack of interest in politics.
“After 13 years it seems that increasing numbers of people have lost faith in local politics and local politicians.
“And I don’t believe that either of the two largest parties should take any comfort from this.”
Mr Elliott also appealed for the party to be united and to demonstrate “collective internal responsibility”.
And the UUP leader paid a warm tribute to outgoing Irish president Mary McAleese, acknowledging that despite political differences she had made an “immense contribution” during 14 years in office.
He said that some UUP opponents “on both sides of the fence” would like to see the party disappear and added: “It would suit them very nicely if we weren’t around to provide criticism and offer alternatives...but there is a role for a party which wants to make government better.”
DUP chief whip Peter Weir hit back at Mr Elliott following his speech, accusing the UUP of creating Stormont’s bloated structures.
Mr Weir said in a statement: “It is said however that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so perhaps in that vein the DUP should take great comfort from Mr Elliott’s words.
“Not only does he claim the work of the DUP in relation to the economy, but he has also copied DUP policies on shared education and in reducing the size of the assembly.”
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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