Letters: Sinn Fein needs to change its boring, old rhetoric

I watched the speech of Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald on Saturday night that was delivered at Sinn Fein’s annual conference in Dublin. I listened to the promise of a new Ireland that would be one of inclusivity, mutual respect and equality. I also listened to the same tired republican rhetoric of how Northern Ireland is so bad and that if we had a united Ireland everything would be so much better.

The constant criticising of the Northern Ireland state was akin to a speech of a historical Sinn Fein leader. We are in 2022. Sinn Fein has been the leading nationalist party in Northern Ireland government since 2007. The Sinn Fein leader complained that the Northern Ireland state was unfair – so unfair, that Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party in the 2022 assembly election and repeatedly claims that Michelle O’Neill is the first minister in waiting. Northern Ireland politics has changed but republican rhetoric has not.

Sinn Fein still behaves as an opposition party on Northern Ireland issues but is actually supposed to be the party in charge. It has a mandate to govern Northern Ireland but instead it would prefer to talk about planning for a united Ireland. It tells the Conservative Party that it has no right to run Northern Ireland but equally tells it to conclude negotiations with the EU and to work on restoring the executive. Sinn Fein also rules out a return to direct rule. “Time for change” is the Sinn Fein slogan these days – the change Sinn Fein needs is a change of rhetoric. It is boring, tiring and old.

Michael Palmer, UUP member, Ards and North Down