Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:

“The DUP’s submission to the Assembly and Executive Review Committee may pay lip service to democratic ideas but the harsh truth is that they are not prepared to do anything to bring us to the point where Northern Ireland can have anything approaching a normal form of democratic government. They talk about obtaining a voluntary coalition government while omitting to mention the fact that they have given a veto over any such move to the antidemocrats in Sinn Fein – a party which traditionally dealt with opposition by way of a bullet in the back of the head.

“They continue to cling to David Ford – a man who would have stripped the Prison Service of any vestiges of Britishness while the DUP were asleep on the issue had I not exposed his plans on the floor of the Assembly.

“But the DUP’s proposals for the appointment of the First and deputy First Ministers illustrate just how duplicitous they are. They claim the fact that the nominee of the largest party of the largest designation no longer automatically becomes First Minister is because “St Andrews was not faithfully implemented in the ensuing legislation”.

“The truth is that the DUP were complicit in the changes. When the legislation was going through the House of Commons no DUP MP voiced an objection to the change.  No amendment was tabled and no vote was forced. When the Bill went to the House of Lords on 22nd November 2006 an UUP amendment to remove the provision whereby the First Minister would come from the biggest party was   debated   and voted upon. Whereas two DUP peers, Lords Morrow and Browne voted in favour of the amendment, when that vote was lost and the original and objectionable Clause 8 was voted upon, the DUP peers voted in favour of it, while UUP peers voted against. Thus, in the House of Lords DUP peers actually voted in favour of the Clause in the Bill which permits Martin McGuinness to become First Minister!

“Why? Because the DUP thought it would be a wonderful way to blackmail the Unionist electorate into voting for them. Far from the DUP wanting to see the process of electing the First Minister change the reality is that they are quite happy with the current arrangements.

“When one keeps that in mind we can see how disingenuous the DUP’s proposals really are.”