EAST ANTRIM A.G.M.
SPEECH, 19th February 2014
This May offers the Ulster Unionist Party an opportunity the likes of which we have never seen.
I repeat, because the Party is over 100 years old, so it hardly sounds right, but it is: the forthcoming Elections offer the Ulster Unionist Party an opportunity the likes of which we have never seen.
Think about it. From the foundation of the country in 1921, to the suspension (or prorogation) of Stormont in 1972, the Ulster Unionist Party was it! And when devolution was restored in 1998, we were still the dominant political party.
It is only in the last decade and a half that our fortunes have faded. Today, I sense those fortunes are turning.
In 1998, the Ulster Unionist Party did what's right for Northern Ireland.
We put the Country first, despite the cost to the Party. It's what we do. It's what Northern Ireland needs. It's responsible politics.
The problem was that others saw an opportunity to undermine the public's trust in Ulster Unionism. Others put their party first. Others ignored the values that underpinned the Agreement, to take party political advantage of some of the policies.
Political policies are important. I do not contest that. On the doorstep over the next number of weeks, we will all be asked about our policies on education, and the economy and housing and health.
But ultimately, what the voter will do is decide who they trust.
The key value in politics is Trust.
When George Best had the occasional bad game, fans would dismiss it with the phrase: form is temporary, but class is permanent.
So in politics, policies come and go, but your values are the rock that forms your foundation, and without that solid base, you cannot hope to bring forward coherent policies.
Our problem for many years now, is that our political opponents have worked hard at undermining public confidence in Ulster Unionism. In '98, when they could have put Northern Ireland first, and joined us at the negotiating table to secure a better deal for unionism, they stood outside, rattling the gates and shouting "foul".
They put their party first. While we took the responsible route, they chose exploitation. I can put the difference between us no more clearly than that.
Those who exploit seek a vote by telling people what to be afraid of. Vote for us, or something awful will happen to you. I want to break that destructive habit. Let the Ulster Unionist Party free up our people and let them vote for what they hope for!
Last year, when we marked the 15th anniversary of the Agreement with an event at the Park Avenue Hotel in east Belfast, among the audience of 15 year old school pupils, there were some who said they did not know the DUP had not supported the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement.
You and I know. I remember interviewing Ian Paisley that Thursday night / Friday morning, after he literally marched his supporters up the Hill to the Media Centre, to offer his usual siren voice - dangerous yet strangely attractive to many, who have floundered on the rocks ever since.
But I sense the tide is turning. The candidates in Antrim on Saturday sense the tide is turning. You also must sense the tide is turning. And, as ever, it revolves around Trust.
Nelson McCausland, an Executive Minister, who does not know whether he met a friendly businessman, or an industry lobby group. Mr McCausland's Special Advisor, who is accused by a DUP Councillor of phoning her, to tell her what to think.
Edwin Poots, a Health Minister, who reduced 80 year olds to tears because they thought they were to be thrown out of their care homes onto the streets. Who bans blood for irrational reasons. And who presides over a crisis in our A&E departments.
The A&E crisis is a pure example of the failure of trust. We measure the problem numerically: how many people present at A&E; how long do they have to wait to be seen; what percentage are diagnosed within 4 hours and 12 hours ......
These are important statistics, but the fundamentals are not numbers - they are values. Primarily Trust.
Trust. Confidence. Courage.
Values bred of Leadership, and it is the undermining of these values that points the finger of blame squarely at the lack of effective Leadership.
Here's another name. Another leader who has lost the trust of his people: Peter Robinson. It was this month three years ago that he savaged Michael McGimpsey as Health Minister.
February 2011, and the First Minister accuses Michael of “posturing” when he warned the Health Service did not have enough funds. It was, said Peter Robinson,“obscene”.
Three years later, Peter Robinson says if the Health Minister needs more money, more money shall be found.
And was Michael McGimpsey right to warn the local NHS is underfunded? I stood in the Senate Chamber of Parliament Buildings on the 21st of January, listening to Health Minister Poots tell the Pensioners Parliament he does not have enough money. It's on the web at www.agesectorplatform.org
How can you trust a Leader who tells one Health Minister he is engaging in obscene posturing, but tells another offering the same warning that money is not an object.
The collapsed proposal for a Peace Centre at Maze Long Kesh; the Education & Skills Authority that does not legally exist yet has cost the taxpayer over £15 million to date; it is, by the way, 40 months - over 3 years - since Peter Robinson said the education of Protestant and Catholics in separate schools in Northern Ireland is a benign form of apartheid. He promised a Commission, telling us "Future generations will not thank us if we fail to address this issue."
Never mind future generations; the current generation should hold his feet to the fire over this failure.
The Ulster Unionist Party proposed a single education system at the time of the formation of the country in 1921. A Belfast Telegraph poll in 1968 found the great majority of children wanted to be educated together. What more evidence do we need? How much longer must we wait?
The answer is as long as it takes to force a change at the heart of government, with a party of responsibility and public service replacing one of exploitation and self-interest.
Trust, confidence, courage. These values the hallmarks of the missing leadership Northern Ireland needs.
Trust was at the heart of the Belfast Agreement. We often hear the expressions "parity of esteem" and "Mutual respect" but let me quote from the introduction to the Agreement:
We, the participants in the multi-party negotiations, believe that the agreement we have negotiated offers a truly historic opportunity for a new beginning.
The tragedies of the past have left a deep and profoundly regrettable legacy of suffering.
We must never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families. But we can
best honour them through a fresh start, in which we firmly dedicate ourselves to the
achievement of reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual trust ......
And so it goes on .....
For me, the failure to date to achieve MUTUAL TRUST is key.
Here's another value we must promote: Tolerance.
Look at some of the issues we tolerate:
· Two parties at the heart of government who are positively North Korean in their attitude to open and transparent government;
· Educational underachievement, by the same groups of people, in the same areas, generation after generation;
· Dereliction and Deprivation, among the same groups of people, in the same areas, despite pumping millions after millions into schemes that fail to make a lasting difference.
The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister until last week held £118 million in the bank to tackle social issues. On Monday, they finally announced they would spend £33 million through the Social Investment Fund.
The media speculated the delay was down to the inability of the two sides of FM and dFM to agree on the principle for awarding the funding. One side wanted an orange pound for every green one. The other side wanted money allocated to where the need was greatest.
The proper answer - if you want to be responsible, rather than exploit the funds for party political purposes - is neither of the above.
The proper answer is to accept that money isn't necessarily the answer.
The proper answer is to fund only those schemes that have a track record of making a positive difference.
Let us stop the parties at the heart of government thinking the best that can be done is painting up shop fronts on the Newtownards Road to make us look good for the Giro D'Italia en route to the Stormont Estate.
Lets us rather pump up our people with hope and expectation and determination that they can turn those empty shops into profitable enterprises.
Then, let us look at what should make us intolerant:
· We should be intolerant of the wilful conflation of identity and sovereignty by so many who say they support the Belfast Agreement. They deliberately walk away from their responsibility to accept NI is part of the United Kingdom, and the consequent fact that the Union Flag is only one Sovereign Flag that reflects that constitutional status;
· We should be intolerant of those who deny anyone’s right to express their identity, be it British, Irish or other. The Irish Tricolour poses no threat to me, any more than anyone who wants to learn to speak the Irish Language. As the great poet John Hewitt put it, I consider myself an Ulsterman, Irish, British and European, and to deny any part is to diminish the whole;
· But we must be equally intolerant of those who have politicised the Irish Language and demand it is returned to its proper status, politically neutral and open to all;
· We should be intolerant of anyone who leaves a Union Flag to disintegrate into tatters on a lamp post. I ask those people to watch a video of what happens to the Union Flag at the funeral of a member of the Armed Forces, as it is removed from the coffin, folded and presented to the family of the service personnel who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. There are very different values at play between those two examples;
· We should be intolerant of anything less than a universal commitment to the rule of law. We should be particularly intolerant of those who support terrorism, in any form;
· We should be intolerant of anyone - anyone - who engages in any thought or action that demonstrates any willingness to be disrespectful;
· We should be intolerant of politics and politicians that fail to deliver.
For months now, we have struggled with the challenge of three of the most difficult issues in local politics, not least Dealing with the Past. These are critical issues, but they will not be fixed with institutional initiatives alone. Yes, we can look at a new Historical Investigative Unit. Yes, we can examine the merits of an Independent Commission for Information Recovery. Yes, there may be merit in an Implementation and Reconciliation Group. But no new body will win hearts and minds without the political will to build the missing Mutual Trust.
Meanwhile, trust in politics is at an all-time low.
I want to rebuild that trust.
I want to engender Hope, and Confidence in the community.
When those values are prospering, so will our people.
When we have Trust and Hope and Confidence, we can deploy the policies that will tackle educational underachievement, deprivation and poverty, and sectarianism and hate crime.
What I believe the people of this country want to hear is what the Ulster Unionist Party intends to do to improve their daily lives.
What actions do we intend taking that will remove the obstacles that obstruct them getting on with things – the issues that annoy them when they wake up in the morning and keep them awake at night.
People want and deserve a stronger economy and the only measure worth considering is the one that says they have a few more pounds in their back pockets and their wallets and their purses. To do that, we need to stop being so reliant on the Block Grant from Westminster.
People want their children better educated and we believe the best way to do that is to commit today to a single education system that cherishes every child for their unique set of abilities, be they academic, technical, vocational, sporting or artistic. Education all our children together is also the best inoculation against sectarianism we could devise.
People want a health service that gives people the confidence that once their sick relative arrives at hospital, they will be given timely and appropriate care – and not left wondering if their loved one died because they did not get the right treatment.
People want a devolved government that is responsive – in the way the Ulster Unionist Party is with its management of the Department of Regional Development. Just yesterday, I sat with Danny Kennedy in the Chamber as he announced an extension to the hugely popular and successful Christmas car parking initiative which saw shoppers offered 5 Hours parking for One Pound . We need more of these practical, targeted policies. We also need other Ministers to take a leaf out of Danny’s book when it comes to drawing down competitive EU funding – Danny leads the way in securing European money for the NI Executive. And that’s a message we need to take to the doorsteps over the next 92 days.
Let us focus on that engagement on the ground, to press home those messages and build on the fundamental values that distinguish this great Party.
Let us inspire trust and confidence, courage and hope.
Let us also embrace another of life's universal, simple fundamentals: Desire.
Look around you. In this room are Council candidates. I ask: how badly do they want to succeed on the 22nd of May?
How badly do you want success?
We now know how badly people want change. Want change for the better. Want what’s right for Northern Ireland.
I do.
Lets Do It.
Lets do what's right for Northern Ireland and offer people a credible choice in these elections.