SNOW Patrol singer Gary Lightbody has slammed the near-two-year governance gap in Northern Ireland as “unforgivable”.
Lightbody, from Bangor, formed the multi-million-selling band in Dundee in 1994, and all but one of its members hail from Northern Ireland.
Powersharing institutions at Stormont collapsed in January 2017 over the cash-for-ash renewables subsidy scandal.
Protracted talks between the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein have failed to resolve the crisis, with the status of the Irish language amongst the biggest points of disagreement.
Further discussions are not expected to start between the parties until the new year.
In an interview with BBC Northern Ireland, Lightbody, 42, claimed that “ego and posturing” has stopped the parties reaching agreement, adding: “It’s people’s lives that are at stake.”
The singer said: “I feel angry that we as a people have been ignored and abandoned by the people that really should be keeping these things running for all of us.
“It’s an unforgivable act to leave a country unmanned for so long and we are at the behest of the winds at the moment and I hope something is resolved quickly.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here