Political Future

With a heavy heart, today I left the Alliance Party. I was, however, delighted to join David Cameron’s Conservative Party, and to become involved in politics at a UK level.

I am proud of my Alliance heritage and utterly committed to many of the party’s causes. This is the heritage which saw injustice in the late 1960s and sought to address it democratically without resort to constitutional change, which stood up for progress which is now accepted as normal but at the time was fiercely opposed, and which still sees as Northern Ireland’s prime challenge not its status but its social divisions. This is the cause which seeks to build a united community by tackling division and exclusion, which seeks to build a prosperous economy by re-balancing our economy, and which seeks to build a sustainable society by thinking longer term and going for greener growth. In my time as an Alliance Councillor I have seen fit to break the whip only once (on a minor planning issue), and with the team we have seen recent successes on land sales (or lack thereof), leisure facilities, and transition planning. I was proud to be the Alliance candidate at the European election, at which the party (not I) scored its best result at any election this decade, and its best result in Europe since 1979.

The European Election left me with plenty to think about. It was, on balance, a good result. However, it was nowhere close to victory, and thus question for me was in what way can I now best pursue the political causes I had stood for? It struck me immediately that it could not be pursued, in the short term at least, at Stormont, where the Executive is dysfunctional and the Assembly therefore rudderless. Thus, I looked for a new professional course, which would offer a new challenge and a new means of influence. Furthermore, politically, I have grown steadily more and more angry about the failures of the current UK Prime Minister and his Government, which lacks both competence and purpose, and which has left the country and many of inhabitants debt-ridden to an extent which endangers our basic quality of living and renders impossible real assistance to those who most need it.

Thus, when the opportunity arose to have meaningful influence on the Conservative Party and its policies over the next year, including the potential of placing many of those issues most important to the Alliance cause at the forefront of its work in Northern Ireland, I felt obliged to explore the options. Its link-up with the Ulster Unionists – a link I have always supported in principle as it potentially widens the choice for the NI electorate – is not what is of most interest to me. What is of interest to me is that the Conservative Party under David Cameron is taking seriously social justice issues and its own socially liberal heritage – and seeking to incorporate Northern Ireland as part of its policy-making in these areas. That is why I will be joining the work of the Conservative-aligned think tank the ‘Centre for Social Justice’ over the next 12 months, incorporating the experience of Belfast into its work as part of its ‘Breakthrough Britain’ series, with the potential for a new UK Government to take this on immediately at the start of its term in office.

Far from negating my commitment to the causes the Alliance Party believes, my move should be seen as an attempt to drive forward those values. Without the party’s work, in which I have played a small part, on the promotion of issues such as integrated education, costs of division and shared neighbourhoods, it is unlikely the prospective next UK Government would be making any of these issues a priority. I understand that many in the Alliance Party will not share my preference for a Conservative Government after the next General Election, but I trust they will recognise the value of having many core Alliance issues placed high on its agenda for Northern Ireland after it.

This move is an indictment not of any party, but of the Executive and Assembly for their failure to provide a real vision for Northern Ireland, despite having had every opportunity to do so. The reality remains that almost all legislation going through the Assembly is parallel legislation to that which has already gone through Westminster. In reality, therefore, Westminster remains (contrary to the purpose of devolution) the real seat of power. That is why I have chosen to seek influence there – with a group of people who are not only committed to ending the educational underachievement, social breakdown and rising debt which breaks society right across the UK (as well as promoting the causes I hold most dear here in Northern Ireland), but who will also, in all likelihood, have the power to do something about it within the next year.

The details of the nature of my work with the Centre for Social Justice are currently being finalised, and will be launched on Wednesday, 16 September at 11am at Richview Regeneration Centre (339-341 Donegall Road).