Ulster Unionist Leader, Robin Swann MLA, has expressed his frustration with the latest talks process saying that he is not interested in talks tokenism.
Ulster Unionist Leader, Robin Swann MLA, said:
“The two largest parties asked for space to have discussions. We have given them space since June last year and they still don't seem to be any closer. It has been over a year since the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive collapsed but we seem to be locked into a never-ending cycle of talks with no end product.
“It is astonishing that we seem to be back to where we left off in June. This cannot be portrayed as an all-party process when three parties continue to be excluded. If they are serious about having an open, transparent, inclusive executive then it`s about time they started demonstrating it with actions rather than more hollow words.
“We`re not interested in tokenism, we don`t want to just be sitting at the table, we want to be fully contributing. There is nothing in this process to indicate that anything has changed. I would be delighted if someone could tell me otherwise. Frustrated does not come close to describing our feelings about this process.
“Northern Ireland cannot afford another year of political drift. I urge the Secretary of State to make her mark on this process. We have neither devolved government nor direct rule. The Secretary of State can change that by making clear that she will urgently consider alternatives.”