Editorial: The easing cost of living crisis gives MLAs room to be prudent

​There has been further good news on energy prices, easing cost of living pressures.

​Gas and electricity price falls have been announced by SSE Airtricity and by PowerNI. Meanwhile, home heating oil – which the biggest source of domestic heating in Northern Ireland by far – is at its lowest level since the summer. While oil prices are still up 20% on the summer lows, they are a third lower than in the months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine two years ago. This is despite the war in the Middle East which led to fears of a repeat of the energy problems in the 1970s.

It is worth reflecting on the good news amid the perpetual talk of a cost of living ‘crisis’. After President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, after the Hamas massacre on October 7, and during the months when inflation was alarmingly high, it was fair to talk of a crisis. It is perhaps better now to talk of cost difficulties. While many people are experiencing significant hardship, the economy by some measures is doing well – such as high employment. Inflation has fallen notably.

Politicians can talk up a cost of living ‘crisis’ in order to duck difficult decisions. These price falls give the DUP and Sinn Fein to move away from their perpetual complaints about funding. They struck a mere 4% increase on the regional rate, which could have been a way to raise funds and show fiscal responsibility, as the government has demanded for its hefty £3 billion plus offer. It suits republican to depict the UK as mean in comparison to Ireland but not unionists.

The executive needs to push back on some pay demands. Public servants must be properly remunerated, but leadership at times means explaining to some such sectors why their overall pay and benefits package is fair, even generous in parts.

The cross-party MLA support for strikes was cowardly. There is a real danger that pay rises soak up so much of the NI budget that key services cannot be funded.