This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/26/northern-ireland-uup-significant-powersharing-announcement
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| UUP to leave Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive | UUP to leave Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive has been plunged into crisis after the leader of the Ulster Unionists said the party should pull out of the five-party ruling coalition at Stormont. | Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive has been plunged into crisis after the leader of the Ulster Unionists said the party should pull out of the five-party ruling coalition at Stormont. |
| The latest and most potentially lethal controversy to beset the devolved government in Belfast was sparked by the murder of ex-IRA assassin Kevin McGuigan earlier this month. | The latest and most potentially lethal controversy to beset the devolved government in Belfast was sparked by the murder of ex-IRA assassin Kevin McGuigan earlier this month. |
| Mike Nesbitt, the UUP leader, said the McGuigan killing and Northern Ireland’s chief constable’s assessment at the weekend that Provisional IRA members carried out the murder have led to a breakdown in trust between unionists and republicans. | Mike Nesbitt, the UUP leader, said the McGuigan killing and Northern Ireland’s chief constable’s assessment at the weekend that Provisional IRA members carried out the murder have led to a breakdown in trust between unionists and republicans. |
| Related: PSNI: Provisional IRA leadership did not sanction Kevin McGuigan murder | Related: PSNI: Provisional IRA leadership did not sanction Kevin McGuigan murder |
| The UUP’s decision to move into opposition inside the Stormont assembly will put pressure on the largest unionist political force, the Democratic Unionist party, to either seek to exclude Sinn Féin in government or else itself resign from the administration, triggering fresh elections. | The UUP’s decision to move into opposition inside the Stormont assembly will put pressure on the largest unionist political force, the Democratic Unionist party, to either seek to exclude Sinn Féin in government or else itself resign from the administration, triggering fresh elections. |
| Reacting to the UUP’s decision to leave the Belfast government, the Democratic Unionists accused their rivals of hypocrisy. North Belfast DUP MP and leader of the party at Westminster Nigel Dodds said: “The UUP previously sat in government with Sinn Fein before decommissioning and whenever the PIRA was armed and active. For the UUP to try and rewrite history is downright hypocritical and misleading.” | |
| Dodds said if anyone should be excluded from Executive it should be Sinn Fein, not unionists, claiming “profound questions” had been raised about the republican party’s fitness for government. But Dodds also warned about possible consequences for Sinn Fein over the McGuigan murder controversy. | |
| Sinn Féin leaders lined up to denounce Nesbitt’s recommendation to his party executive that it exit the power-sharing administration as putting narrow political gain above the peace process. | Sinn Féin leaders lined up to denounce Nesbitt’s recommendation to his party executive that it exit the power-sharing administration as putting narrow political gain above the peace process. |
| Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness, accused the UUP of playing party politics. He tweeted: | Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness, accused the UUP of playing party politics. He tweeted: |
| This decision by the UUP is more about inter Unionist rivalry than their & others feigned concern about our unequivocal commitment to #Peace | This decision by the UUP is more about inter Unionist rivalry than their & others feigned concern about our unequivocal commitment to #Peace |
| Gerry Kelly, former IRA Old Bailey bomber turned Sinn Féin assemblyman, said: “It is very hard to believe what he (Nesbitt) is trying to do other than compete with the DUP in upcoming elections.” Kelly added that the lunchtime press conference in the Great Hall of the Stormont parliament sounded like a “party political broadcast”. | Gerry Kelly, former IRA Old Bailey bomber turned Sinn Féin assemblyman, said: “It is very hard to believe what he (Nesbitt) is trying to do other than compete with the DUP in upcoming elections.” Kelly added that the lunchtime press conference in the Great Hall of the Stormont parliament sounded like a “party political broadcast”. |
| But Nesbitt insisted on Wednesday that the UUP was still “wedded” to the 1998 Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and its “vision of a Northern Ireland that is totally peaceful and where everyone prospers: unionists, nationalists and republicans equally”. | But Nesbitt insisted on Wednesday that the UUP was still “wedded” to the 1998 Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and its “vision of a Northern Ireland that is totally peaceful and where everyone prospers: unionists, nationalists and republicans equally”. |
| The former Ulster Television news presenter said recent events – including the McGuigan murder and chief constable George Hamilton’s analysis that the PIRA exists in some form – had shattered unionist faith in Sinn Féin. | The former Ulster Television news presenter said recent events – including the McGuigan murder and chief constable George Hamilton’s analysis that the PIRA exists in some form – had shattered unionist faith in Sinn Féin. |
| “Seventeen years on, we are told the IRA still exists, and that it has a command structure, at a senior level. | “Seventeen years on, we are told the IRA still exists, and that it has a command structure, at a senior level. |
| “We are also told members of the IRA have committed a murder on the streets of our capital city, working with another criminal gang, Action Against Drugs. And in response, Sinn Féin trot out their single transferrable speech of denial. That speech is threadbare. It has put a hole in the fabric of the agreement,” he said. | “We are also told members of the IRA have committed a murder on the streets of our capital city, working with another criminal gang, Action Against Drugs. And in response, Sinn Féin trot out their single transferrable speech of denial. That speech is threadbare. It has put a hole in the fabric of the agreement,” he said. |
| Although the UUP will now give up its single ministry on the executive, where Danny Kennedy has been in charge of the region’s transport system, Nesbitt did hold out the prospect of returning to government if the issue of ongoing paramilitarism is resolved. | Although the UUP will now give up its single ministry on the executive, where Danny Kennedy has been in charge of the region’s transport system, Nesbitt did hold out the prospect of returning to government if the issue of ongoing paramilitarism is resolved. |
| He suggested that a new ceasefire/paramilitary monitoring organisation be set up that would investigate alleged acts of violence still being carried out by armed groups including the loyalist paramilitaries as well as the IRA. His call for such a new monitoring force is based on the hope that such a body could act as a deterrent on any further IRA armed actions in particular. | He suggested that a new ceasefire/paramilitary monitoring organisation be set up that would investigate alleged acts of violence still being carried out by armed groups including the loyalist paramilitaries as well as the IRA. His call for such a new monitoring force is based on the hope that such a body could act as a deterrent on any further IRA armed actions in particular. |
| His call for a new version of the Independent Monitoring Commission – the body that examined breaches of paramilitary ceasefires and observed the destruction of most of the PIRA’s arsenal in 2005 – also appeared to win support on Wednesday from a Labour shadow cabinet minister. Ivan Lewis, Labour’s Northern Ireland spokesman, said: “We urge the UK government to work with the Irish government and US administration to identify confidence-building measures which can support dialogue and prevent the collapse of the institutions.” | His call for a new version of the Independent Monitoring Commission – the body that examined breaches of paramilitary ceasefires and observed the destruction of most of the PIRA’s arsenal in 2005 – also appeared to win support on Wednesday from a Labour shadow cabinet minister. Ivan Lewis, Labour’s Northern Ireland spokesman, said: “We urge the UK government to work with the Irish government and US administration to identify confidence-building measures which can support dialogue and prevent the collapse of the institutions.” |
| The UUP’s ruling executive is almost certain to back Nesbitt’s exit strategy from the regional government when it meets on Saturday, putting intense pressure on the DUP to pull out of the power-sharing administration. This would bring down the devolved regional government and spark early assembly elections, possibly this autumn. | The UUP’s ruling executive is almost certain to back Nesbitt’s exit strategy from the regional government when it meets on Saturday, putting intense pressure on the DUP to pull out of the power-sharing administration. This would bring down the devolved regional government and spark early assembly elections, possibly this autumn. |
| Related: Unionists may come to regret collapse of power sharing over McGuigan murder | |
| While still the largest unionist party, the DUP did ship votes in the general election to the UUP including the loss of its South Antrim Westminster seat to Ulster Unionist ex-army officer Danny Kinahan. The DUP grassroots will fear that they could be electorally outflanked even further by the harder stance of the UUP on being in government with Sinn Féin in forthcoming assembly elections in 2016. | While still the largest unionist party, the DUP did ship votes in the general election to the UUP including the loss of its South Antrim Westminster seat to Ulster Unionist ex-army officer Danny Kinahan. The DUP grassroots will fear that they could be electorally outflanked even further by the harder stance of the UUP on being in government with Sinn Féin in forthcoming assembly elections in 2016. |
| Unionists have warned that evidence of continued PIRA activities, including murder, would mark a breach of key moves to restore devolution back in 2005. They point to an IRA statement in 2005 that the organisation was disbanding as a military force – a key demand from unionist parties before they would go into regional government with Sinn Féin. | Unionists have warned that evidence of continued PIRA activities, including murder, would mark a breach of key moves to restore devolution back in 2005. They point to an IRA statement in 2005 that the organisation was disbanding as a military force – a key demand from unionist parties before they would go into regional government with Sinn Féin. |
| The Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, said on Sunday the PIRA “had gone away”, while party colleagues have claimed that the current crisis over the McGuigan murder was being exploited for political gain by opponents north and south of the Irish border. | The Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, said on Sunday the PIRA “had gone away”, while party colleagues have claimed that the current crisis over the McGuigan murder was being exploited for political gain by opponents north and south of the Irish border. |