A CAMPAIGN group calling for politicians to get back to Stormont has been engulfed in a row after speakers on abortion reform and same-sex marriage were pulled from a scheduled rally in Belfast.
The #WeDeserveBetter campaign, which has gained traction online in recent weeks, aims to encourage MLAs to restore devolution in Northern Ireland.
Demonstrations are planned across the north on Tuesday to mark 589 days without a Stormont government – matching Belgium's 2011 record for the longest time without a government in peacetime.
However, some involved in the Belfast rally have withdrawn their support after being asked to reconsider speakers on abortion reform and same-sex marriage.
The row led to criticism online with some branding the movement "well-meaning but naive", but a founder said they want to focus on urging MLAs to make decisions.
Elaine Crory, an Alliance for Choice activist, and John O'Doherty, director of LGBT charity the Rainbow Project, had been asked by online group Progressive Politics NI to speak at the event.
They said that when organisers of the Belfast rally posted speaker announcements online on Monday, there were "some intense disagreements online, with many feeling that we represent divisive agendas".
"The organisers of We Deserve Better contacted the Belfast organisers (Progressive Politics NI) and asked them to reconsider our platform," Ms Crory and Mr O'Doherty said in a statement to The Irish News.
"In the aftermath of this Progressive Politics NI have pulled out of the Belfast rally as we have had our invites to speak rescinded.
"We bear no ill will towards the organisers, who have stood by their principles on this.
"From our perspective, the issues that we were asked to speak about are absolutely central to this movement."
They added: "We hope that the protest is successful and that Stormont is restored, but this restoration is meaningless if it does not come with a commitment to act on these issues which impact people's lives every day."
The #WeDeserveBetter campaign was sparked by a video posted on Facebook by Fermanagh man Dylan Quinn which gained thousands of views.
The father-of-four from Enniskillen said the campaign is voluntary and non-politically aligned, and praised the support it has received across Northern Ireland.
Asked about the Belfast event, he said "nobody was told to drop anybody", but organisers were asked to remove posts announcing speakers so that it could be considered.
He said some felt that "some of the issues that the speakers were talking about were unfortunately deflecting attention away from what the core aim of We Deserve Better is about".
Mr Quinn said the grassroots campaign "isn't about particular policy issues" but is instead "about MLAs getting into government so that these issues can be dealt with".
"We want to get them into government so that they will deal with these issues. We can't run before we can walk," he added.
