Opinion

Allison Morris: Despite last week's shambles, we are better off with locally accountable ministers

Boris Johnson said devolution had been a 'disaster north of the border'
Boris Johnson said devolution had been a 'disaster north of the border' Boris Johnson said devolution had been a 'disaster north of the border'

It has been a pretty dire time for politics here in the north.

I don't think there is one single minister in the five party coalition at Stormont who could honestly put their hand on their heart and say they were proud of their work over the last ten days.

There were many casualties as a result of the delay in announcing the next step in restrictions - the NHS staff working on the front line in greatly depleted numbers, the small businesses not knowing whether they were able to open or not.

But by far the biggest casualty was public confidence in the leadership of the devolved administration to take us out of this current, and much more serious, phase of the pandemic.

I am not a big fan of the 'plague on both their houses' style of political commentary.

By saying 'sure they're all as bad as each other' takes away individual responsibility from those politicians who accepted ministerial portfolios and agreed to work collectively in government for the good of all.

They are not in ministerial posts to do what's best only for their specific voters or funders, nor are they at the executive table to allow their own personal beliefs to cloud decision making.

Despite the recent shambles, I do not believe that we would be in a better place without locally accountable leadership.

Without the January deal to restore the institutions we would be at the mercy of the Tory party and their survival of the fittest approach to Covid.

Almost 46,000 deaths in England alone, a large proportion of those among the poorest of communities, people without the luxury of working from home afforded to many of those living in the London, financial sector, bubble.

As dire as the situation now appears, there are politicians at Stormont who I still believe genuinely care what happens to their fellow citizens.

However, if you put yourself forward for election, if you accept a posting into high office, then there is responsibility and accountability that comes with that.

It's simply not good enough to finger point or play party politics in such a serious crisis in health, the economy and in society in general, where despair has set in for so many genuinely struggling from day to day.

The impact of Covid is something we will be feeling for a very long time to come.

Right now online retail giants and those lucky enough to secure huge government contracts, handed out without the usual tendering and procurement processes, are the only people profiting from this crisis.

Everyone else is feeling the strain and those in poverty long before the crisis began are at the sharpest end.

I agree with the World Health Organisation when they say lockdown should not be the primary method of virus control, those cheerleading loudest for that show little understanding of what true poverty and hardship are.

But as numbers of Covid positive cases, hospital admissions and deaths rose it became clear that the second wave of the virus was not just more severe than previously predicted but also poorly planned for, leaving lockdown restrictions the only way to save the NHS from collapse.

The collective decision taken by Sinn Féin and the DUP on Friday, November 6, was outdated by the time new medical advice and modelling was received on the Monday.

The DUP's science-sceptic faction in Sammy Wilson, Ian Paisley and Edwin Poots have wielded too much power in decisions that are a matter of life and death.

The use of the cross community mechanism to prevent a majority vote on restrictions, while perfectly legal under the current executive rules, was far removed from the purpose it was intended for.

The DUP will have to own recent decisions, and must find a way to reconcile their plans for the economy with their fellow ministers' concerns.

In the last fortnight two global companies have said they've created a vaccine they believe works, bringing much needed hope.

To make sure as many lives, livelihoods and the mental health of the population are saved until then, the public need reassurance that priorities and not personalities are the main order of executive business.

A united front may require compromise, a few forced smiles and lot of gritted teeth but it is what's needed to pull people through the next tough few months.

This terrible time must end eventually and those seen wanting to work together as a collective will find a much more forgiving public when it does.