January 2020 saw the New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) Agreement heralded as a new beginning, yet as January 2023 draws to a close, the failure of the Government to fulfil their pledges within the Agreement has undermined progress.
Within NDNA there were commitments to consensus politics as well as the restoration of Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market and ensuring Northern Ireland had 7,500 police officers.
All those commitments have been shown to be worth little more than the paper on which they were written.
We want to see Stormont restored, and it can be restored if commitments made to the people of Northern Ireland are delivered upon by others.
There will be no solid basis for an Executive and Assembly until the Protocol is replaced with arrangements that restore Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market and our constitutional arrangements are respected.
The Government and the EU have been aware of our consistent position regarding the sustainability of Stormont for more than a year and the need to honestly return to the principles of powersharing if progress is to be made.