Politics

Opinion: North needs investment, not cuts

Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness Martin McGuinness

Over the last two decades I have negotiated with successive British governments to progress the peace process.

Throughout that time I have dealt with several British Prime Ministers, cabinet members and senior officials.

This current British government, led by David Cameron, is the most disengaged from the political process in the North of any of the British administrations we have dealt with.

Its only involvement in the political life of the North has been wholly negative with its agenda of relentless austerity and cuts.

Over the last five years the Tories have slashed the block grant, removing hundreds of millions of pounds from the Assembly budget undermining its ability to deliver public services for all of our citizens.

At Westminster they have imposed cuts to social security and tax credits for working families. This has caused real hardship for individuals, families and communities.

In the face of these cuts Sinn Féin has worked hard to come up with alternatives to offset the worst excesses of this agenda.

We did this by creating jobs and reducing unemployment for 27 months in a row, protecting essential public services and negotiating the Stormont House Agreement to protect those with disabilities and the most vulnerable.

There is no more room to manoeuvre, no more savings to be made. The failure of the DUP to implement the Stormont House Agreement and the additional cuts announced by the Tories in July will seriously impact on frontline services, on our economy and on society.

The political structures created by the Good Friday Agreement are at the point of imminent collapse due to this relentless Tory assault on public services and the welfare state.

British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers has continually attempted to side step her government's responsibility for the current crisis facing the Executive and our political institutions.

She attempts to portray the difficulties as a dispute between the local political parties while ignoring the fact that the policies of her government are at the root of our problems.

I met David Cameron recently alongside the Sinn Féin leadership team of Gerry Adams, Michelle Gildernew and Mary-Lou McDonald, to press him to recognise the role and responsibilities of his government.

At the meeting we warned David Cameron that the significant progress made over the course of the last two decades, including the establishment of the political institutions, is at risk as a direct result of his government's austerity policies.

To date the Tory government has singularly failed to accept the unique circumstances and needs of a society moving out of conflict. Instead of cuts, what is required is an investment package to stimulate the economy so that those communities who suffered most as a result of the conflict benefit from a real peace dividend.

They have refused to acknowledge the unique challenges facing the Stormont Executive in overcoming decades of neglect and underinvestment and dealing with the legacy of the conflict.

This needs to change. David Cameron, Theresa Villiers and the rest of the British government need to think again and adopt a new approach to the North.

They need to re-engage with the political process. The Executive requires sustainable and workable finances to allow it to deliver frontline public services, grow the economy and protect the most vulnerable.

Successive British governments invested enormous resources in pursuing a military agenda. They now need to bring a similar commitment to building a still fragile peace.