Palestine flag row shows Belfast's three Green councillors now hold the city's balance of power: TUV
The Palestine flag row shows three Green party councillors now hold the balance of power in Northern Ireland’s capital city.
That’s according to the TUV, who pointed out that even with all unionist parties together in their opposition to flying the flag and Alliance joining them to vote against it, their combined forces still weren’t enough to outpoll those in favour of the contentious move.
The flag was hoisted over Belfast City Hall from midnight to dusk yesterday, a decision that was won by a majority of four votes – making the Greens vital to its success, as their three councillors voted in line with Sinn Fein, the SDLP, People Before Profit and a single independent who used to be in the SDLP to get the banner erected.
For TUV councillor Ron McDowell, it means the comparatively small party could now be regarded as the effective kingmakers of the council; where their votes fall on contentious issues where there’s a unionist-nationalist split could well decide the outcome.
“Belfast City Council now has 60 councillors, with only 17 from unionist parties,” he said. “Even when you add the 12 Alliance members, there still isn’t a majority. That’s been clearly exposed this week; even with Alliance voting with unionists on the Palestine flag, the numbers simply aren’t there.
“What people often overlook is that the real balance of power in city hall now rests with the Green Party. Their three councillors effectively tip the scales on contentious votes; on issues like the Palestinian flag, even a rare alignment between unionists and Alliance isn’t enough if the Greens go the other way.
“Looking ahead, the battleground at the next election will be around three key seats that could shift that balance. Without movement there, unionists will continue to find it extremely difficult to secure any victories in a council where the arithmetic is stacked against them.”
Monday night’s vote is subject to a legal challenge from the TUV, with the case to come to court at the end of next week. An emergency injunction that would have seen the flag removed yesterday failed, leaving the Palestinian banner up until council staff took it down at dusk, as per their usual flag procedures.