THE leader of Northern Ireland’s Green Party has announced he is to quit – and has accused the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein of betraying local people because of their failure to resolve the power-sharing impasse.
Steven Agnew said he was “frustrated, despondent and angry” at the failure to reconvene Stormont as it was preventing him from doing his job properly.
“I am angry that we have two parties that are putting their needs as parties ahead of the needs of the people of Northern Ireland,” he said. “I don’t think anyone could say this period of suspension, or call it what you will, is good for Northern Ireland.
“The decisions that need to be made are stacking up and the impact particularly on the community and voluntary sector has been huge, and services aren’t being delivered in the way they should – the challenges in terms of the health service and education are not being met.”
He added: “I tend to be moderate in how I present these things, but I am angry – I do think it’s a betrayal of the people of Northern Ireland.
“And regardless of how it impacts on me or my party, we are here to provide good governance, that’s what we get elected for.
“You get elected to be in power, to make decisions, to make change and they have stepped back from that, they have relinquished power and, in the meantime, they have left Northern Ireland in a state of limbo and with each passing day more and more problems arrive that are not being solved.
Agnew said he had thought about leaving politics altogether but had decided to stay on as an assembly member for North Down.
He added that he understood public anger that members of the Northern Ireland Assembly were still being paid in full, despite Secretary of State Karen Bradley saying she was “minded” to cut their salaries. Agnew said: “I resent the position I find myself in now, and the country finds itself in now, in that we don’t have a functioning Assembly and the role of MLA has been devalued.”
“I want to be in the Assembly, I want to be delivering on what I worked really hard to achieve in getting elected.
“I want the Assembly back up and running. I want decisions being made.”
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