Timothy Gaston: ​For all their protest, DUP are doing nothing to stop Irish signs at Grand Central Station

I raised the failure when I was speaking during Members’ Statements in the assembly yesterday.

I explained that I had, before the House rose for Easter, placed a petition in Stormont’s Business Office, which would have referred it to the executive for a cross-community vote.

It was a simple petition to refer the Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins's decision to impose Irish-language signage at the new Grand Central Station to the executive for such a cross-community vote, as is required in similarly controversial situations.

I regret to say that not a single Member of the Assembly added their name beside mine.

Not one.

That was despite the leader of the DUP Gavin Robinson MP promising that his party was "putting down a marker" on the issue.

It was despite the DUP chair of the Infrastructure Committee Deborah Erskine MLA describing the decision as "undoubtedly controversial".

It was despite the DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly MLA saying that it was a controversial decision that had not been brought to the executive.

To avoid anyone in front of me feeling left out, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party Mike Nesbitt MLA reminded us over recess of "the tradition of some republicans to believe every word spoken in Irish is another bullet fired in the battle for Irish freedom".

Some in the House like to speak grandly about unionist unity: often, they like to point to my party and claim that we are the obstacle to it.

However, here was the test; indeed, here was the opportunity.

All unionists — DUP, Ulster Unionists, TUV — were agreed that a Sinn Féin minister's actions were controversial and provocative, and amounted to poking the loyalist community of Sandy Row in the eye.

Anyone with an ounce of common sense can see it.

The Sandy Row community — already ignored when it came to the demolition of the Boyne Bridge and already punished by the effective sealing off of businesses around Grand Central — will now have Sinn Féin-imposed Irish language signs upon them.

Where was the unionist unity when it truly mattered?

Unionism will, rightly, ask, ‘What did you do?’

Yes, there was plenty of tough talking and plenty of grand declarations, but when it came to it, this was the result: a largely blank page with the sole signature of the TUV MLA for North Antrim.

That is shameful.

It is a blank page that gives Sinn Féin a blank cheque to do and act as it pleases.

Early this month, after the Stormont executive met on Thursday April 3, I issued the following statement: “While welcoming the fact that the deputy first minister today made clear that the unilateral decision of the infrastructure minister to move to impose Irish signage on Grand Central is controversial and should have been brought to the executive, I do wonder what exactly the DUP is planning to actually do about the matter ...

"Surely there are options here for the DUP to not just talk about what the minister has done but actually stop it. They can sign my petition, have their ministers call it in or bring Minister Kimmins to court.”

I tried to do something about it.

Yesterday it became clear that others did not.

They will have to answer why not.​

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• Timothy Gaston is the TUV MLA for North Antrim