Letter: No point being in opposition when Stormont has the government structure of a one party state

While I am in broad agreement with his analysis of the general incompetence and impotence of previous Stormont administrations, I find I cannot agree with his suggestion that the DUP should return to Stormont as an opposition, for two main reasons.

Firstly, the current hard border in the Irish sea, which destroyed the principle of consent of both communities before any constitutional change, will be still operating. This breaking by the protocol, of the consent principle, was allegedly to save the Good Friday Agreement, and a return to Stormont while the protocol is operating will allow the anti-unionist coalition to claim the protocol has saved the Good Friday Agreement, and give them the propaganda victory they so desperately crave.

Secondly, the current Stormont government structures are the apparatus of a one party state operated by multiple parties. In a one party state, elections throw up varying numbers of reformers, hawks and moderates from the same party, but while the numbers of each faction may vary, the overall direction of government remains unchanged. The system in Stormont is even more chaotic for instead of reformers, hawks and moderates from the same party, we have parties who are diametrically opposed on constitutional, moral, and social issues, permanently in government as long as they can get a certain quota of votes. A sure recipe for incompetent governance.

Mr Hoey suggests that the DUP, perhaps with other parties, should go into opposition. A laudable concept, except for one cardinal flaw – there is no point of an opposition in a one party state apparatus. The whole point of an opposition is that it can provide a credible change of government if it obtains sufficient votes in the next election, by excluding the incompetent former administration. Unfortunately, this cannot happen under the current Good Friday Agreement set-up.

While opposition may be “noble and have the potential to be reinvigorating” as Mr Hoey says, there is no point in an opposition until such times as the current one party state apparatus has been replaced by real democratic structures.

Tom Ferguson, Ballymoney