THE ULSTER Unionist leader who helped negotiate the Belfast Agreement has strongly criticised the St Andrews Agreement which helped pave the way to a deal between the DUP and Sinn Féin to share power at Stormont.
Looking to next May’s Assembly election and the possibility of a Sinn Féin first minister, David – now Lord – Trimble blamed this possibility on the DUP-backed St Andrews deal.
Under this agreement, the first minister’s post is filled by the nominee of the largest political party rather than the largest “designation” in the Assembly. While the former system envisaged a unionist first minister, Lord Trimble charged the DUP-supported changes leave open the possibility Sinn Féin could become the largest party and Martin McGuinness the first minister.
Writing in yesterday’s News Letter, Lord Trimble argued: “The agreement we negotiated provided for a joint nomination and joint election to the two posts [first and deputy first minister]. So there would obviously have been discussions with Sinn Féin before any such joint nomination could have been made.
“But at St Andrews the joint election was replaced by the automatic elevation to first minister of the nominee of the largest party irrespective of the views of any other party. This was “a cynical exercise” by the DUP and Sinn Féin “to rig the election in their favour”. He called the arrangement the “St Andrews stitch-up”.
He continued: “The tragedy is that the DUP are not just perverting next year’s election, but threatening the future of Northern Ireland. The first minister has precedence and is the one to give leadership to the community as a whole. This is what should be happening. But these days it seems to me that McGuinness is the one that is publicly addressing the big issues, while Robinson is comparatively reticent . . . And the last thing to do would be to unite with a party capable of the cynical sectarian manoeuvres I have just described.”
The DUP hit back last night with North Down Assembly member Peter Weir claiming his party would not accept lecturing by Lord Trimble.
“This is the same man whose strategy destroyed the RUC and released every terrorist murderer on to our streets. Whilst Trimble’s UUP would have devolved policing and justice to an SF minister, the DUP sought and gained key changes so as it could be devolved in a way that unionists could support.”
He said the DUP had got “a fair deal for unionism and we’ve put unionism on the front foot”.