In one of the first responses we’ve received, the leader of the Alliance Party, David Ford, welcomes the dropping of the OTR legislation, and argues that this should mark the end of any further side deals:From David Ford:
This murky side deal goes back to the Weston Park talks five years ago, and has rightly resulted in complete failure. The lesson the Government must learn from this is that the political process cannot be run via dodgy carve-ups.
“By definition, all political parties represent a minority of the electorate. People will have no faith in a process managed in such a style. We must be seeking solutions which have broad popular support, not engaging in tribal carve-up.
“This, and many other issues, must now be dealt with in the proper way – via inclusive talks. There is no point in waiting for the end of the month
for this to happen, let us get on with it now.“I am proud the Alliance Party played the lead role in ensuring this legislation was scrapped, and in showing up the process of tribal side-deals for the failure it is. This marks a clear victory for those committed to genuine, inclusive democracy.”
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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