THE BELFAST Agreement is an Ulster Unionist achievement that is delivering a new Northern Ireland, Tom Elliott has claimed.
Launching the UUP election manifesto in Belfast’s Linen Hall Library yesterday, the party’s leader accused the DUP of a political carve-up with Sinn Féin at Stormont, and “a cynical manipulation of old fears for short-term electoral advantage”.
With the party’s 29 Assembly candidates in attendance, Mr Elliott accused the DUP of making a U-turn from the days of “Smash Sinn Féin”, and claimed his party had worked in the best interests of Northern Ireland.
The Ulster Unionists had a broader vision than the DUP, offered co-operation rather than carve-up and would prevent another four years of DUP-Sinn Féin domination at the Executive, he added.
Under the banner of “It’s time to make Stormont work for you”, Mr Elliott said his party had “almost alone within unionism in 1998, constructed the framework for a post-conflict Northern Ireland firmly embedded within the United Kingdom”.
He did not refer to former party leader David Trimble by name.
The DUP had, he said, insisted “there were ‘no circumstances’ under which it would ever be acceptable to have Sinn Féin in government”. His leadership would mean that the UUP would do “the right thing at the right time”, he vowed.
“The DUP and Sinn Féin may be happy with stalemate, veto and an ‘us and them’ agenda, but the UUP has a broader vision than that,” he said. “A vision which unites us rather than leaves us as polarised as ever.
“We need to shift from the view that this is just a peace process and concentrate instead on the fact that this is a political and government process, too: and a political process requires hard, clear decisions about how we can make government work and work better for the benefit of the people.”
Directing his fire at the DUP and Sinn Féin, he said: “We know that you cannot build co-operation if you have a carve-up at the heart of government. You cannot cure a divided society if the Executive itself is divided.”
He insisted a programme for government should be agreed before ministries were allocated at Stormont to “allow for a better, functional future”.
The 38-page party manifesto pledges to “rebalance” the Northern economy by defending the social economy and building the private sector. It offers to build cross-Border co-operation in relation to tourism and maps out a seven-point plan to develop health services.
On education, Mr Elliott said the electorate was in favour of abolishing the 11-plus transfer test while retaining some form of academic selection. He said the current system of two separate and unregulated testing systems was unacceptable.
The UUP remains opposed to an Irish language Act, he says. It supports gradual reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, and backs the introduction of “sustainable development as a key pillar of government”.
The manifesto is critical of Sinn Féin’s handling of the regional development department, as well as its handling of the water crisis in December and January.
ELECTION PLEDGES
MAIN POINTS:
Create an official opposition
Agree a programme for government before the Executive is formed
Promote the private sector and “rebalance” the economy
Retain academic selection and grammar schools
Reverse cuts in health Cross-Border review of Tourism Ireland