Letters: Period of Direct Rule would be no bad thing

The run-in to Christmas will be a difficult time for many people in Northern Ireland with no end in sight to ongoing economic hardship. But thanks to Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris and his decision not to call a Stormont election, the people of N Ireland – as they try to make Christmas as happy as they can for their families – will be spared the repulsive sectarian “'Punch and Judy Show” that passes for politics at Stormont.

All political parties that have derided the Secretary of State’s decision have demanded that Mr Heaton-Harris remain faithful to the spirit of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, conveniently ignoring the fact that they have all broken their promise that as signatures to the agreement, all parties would commit to building a democratic civic society and a peaceful, prosperous N Ireland.

The idea that a return to Stormont will steer us through this current economic crisis is wishful thinking. The major decisions to be taken to alleviate the hardships of people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be taken at Westminster. A prolonged period of Direct Rule from Westminster would be no bad thing as it would allow our political class the time and space to develop the appropriate amount of maturity and responsibility to govern efficiently and effectively.

I can hear the cries of "we can't have blue Tories governing N Ireland", but people know full well that Tories come in many colours: blue, orange, green and yellow.

No return to Stormont at this point may be a crisis and a catastrophe for our political elites, but this Christmas people have much more serious social and economic hardships to deal with.

Gerry Cullen, Dungannon