DUP manifesto: Pledge of baby boxes, cash for 100-year-olds and reformed expenses
Below are some of the proposals contained in the DUP manifesto, which was launched in Belfast on Monday:
• In 2021, Northern Ireland’s centenary year, each centenarian would receive a £1,000 gift in recognition of their contribution to the Province. There would also be a “personal oral history project to document their memories”.
• Every child born in 2021 would receive a ‘baby box’ – a Finnish idea where newborns are given a box with essential items – giving every child an “equal start”.
• A one-off public holiday on 5 May 2021, the centenary of Northern Ireland’s creation as a legal entity.
• The establishment of an Office of Data Analytics to “examined existing government data to find better ways of doing things and tackling difficult issues”.
• The party’s “long-term goal” is a voluntary coalition at Stormont, with weighted majority voting in the Assembly of around 65 per cent, bringing an end to the requirement for MLAs to designate as unionist, nationalist or ‘other’ without ending minority protections.
• It is “imperative” that the Stormont expenses system is changed, with the DUP supporting a move to a body similar to Westminster’s Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
• The DUP is “committed to developing a Greenway Network across Northern Ireland that provides traffic-free space for walkers and cyclists for both leisure and commuting”.
• The introduction of a ‘broadband voucher’ to assist rural dwellers to access high-speed internet.