Via the Irish News:
The SDLP wants to shut down Stormont and move the Assembly to a “more appropriate and more accessible” building in Belfast city centre.
The party argues that its plan will “bring democratic decision-making closer to the people it serves”.
But under plans which opposition leader Matthew O’Toole insists are “not that radical”, his party proposes moving the Assembly out of Parliament Buildings by the end of the next mandate in 2032.
The South Belfast and Mid Down MLA argues that Stormont is “so discredited as a place and an idea” that it requires a complete relocation to redress the lack of public confidence in the devolved institutions.
“People have lost faith in the Assembly and the Executive; they have lost faith in the institution we call Stormont,” he said.
“It is detached in its location and is poorly served by public transport. It also has an air of grandeur and pomposity that’s out of place in the modern Northern Ireland.”
Mr O’Toole insisted that he is not advocating “building something like the Scottish Parliament” at Holyrood, which cost almost ten times the original estimate.
Instead, he told The Irish News an existing civil service-owned building “could be repurposed and it would have to be as close to revenue neutral as possible”.
Mr O’Toole said the party’s plan “has nothing to do with Stormont’s historical associations”.
“It’s not beyond the wit of the Assembly to find a building where 90 MLAs can debate for two days a week,” he said.
“The Assembly’s current location reinforces public cynicism as its grandiosity contrasts greatly with the quality of debate that goes on there.”
You never hear a lot of love for Stormont. People think it’s very hard to get to and because it’s so out of the way, there’s not a lot of socialising that you would get with a city centre site so it does not do much to improve relations between politicians – its a craic free zone. I always thought it would make sense to return it to its old home at the Union Building on Botanic.
Another good option is, I think, they should rotate assembly meetings around Northern Ireland. There’s no reason why the Assembly could not meet in Newry, Derry, Omagh etc.
But let’s face it, the Assembly is not long for this world so all this is a bit hypothetical.
Then there is the issue of what happens with reunification. Will there even be a Northern Ireland Assembly?
Someone did suggest this place as a suitable venue.
Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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