My there’s a lot going on isn’t there? Even the biggest nutter for local politics wouldn’t claim our affairs are dominating consciousness. Just the moment then for the Executive to exploit the holidays and the crowded agenda elsewhere to put the lid on what’s going on under the surface of the happy image of the Smiling Sisters.
Full marks to the Irish News for catching then out.
Last Thursday, the Northern Ireland Executive met for the first time since the July 4 election and King’s Speech. This newspaper described it as “low-key”, journalese for not having a lot to report.
The thrust of our coverage was about the programme for government that hadn’t been agreed, or even discussed, at the meeting, and how there’d been previous pledges to have it in place once the election was out of the way.
There was no official notification of last Thursday’s executive meeting and it went largely unreported by other media outlets. There were no photo-ops outside Stormont Castle and no post-meeting press conference by ministers.
There was, however, the signing-off of agriculture and environment minister Andrew Muir’s Lough Neagh ‘action plan’, a cross-cutting strategy that seemingly has full Executive support.
Yet there were no gestures of solidarity with the Alliance minister, and none of his executive colleagues issued statements of support for a document that requires a breadth of buy-in if it is to have any impact.
Following up on this story the Irish News got a dusty reply from Stormont Castle. With my long memory it reminds me of those far distant days when Lord Brookeborough ( PM 1942 -63, keep up children!) used to lordly palm off inquiries for months and even took off on an African safari for six months.
Try this for arrogance today.
The Executive Office told The Irish News that it “will not be providing a running commentary” on the schedule for executive meetings over the summer months.
The refusal to inform the media when ministers come together for key meetings is out of step with agreed practice for the administrations in London, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
Last Thursday’s Executive meeting at Stormont Castle, which saw ministers agree an emergency plan for Lough Neagh, included no media facility.
The enclosed little world up the Hill probably isn’t even aware that this departs from normal practice everywhere else except possibly North Korea. We are entirely accustomed to seeing journalists obediently strung out in a line in the Great Hall waiting for the lords and masters to descend the marble ( type) stairs and favour them with a few words . Where do these guys think they are , the White House?
I’m not close to it, but what worries me is that the Northern Ireland media are becoming inured to a pernicious system of local media management.
To be fair, local correspondents are brilliant at exposing party political intrigue and division with special attention to the legacy – and the legacy’s legacy. But on the evolution of policy or the lack of it and the working of the Assembly, not so much. There are always exceptions, like Sam McBride and the economically literate Newton Emerson.
A fundamental problem lies in the weakness of the Executive structure. Despite all the promises to the contrary, no real collective responsibility exists and silo operations by ministers remains the norm. This is seen as a necessary product of ” mandatory” powersharing with departments allocated by party strengths according to the D’Hondt process. Ministerial discretion is prescribed, collective responsibility and the coordinating power of FMdFM are weak. Party caucusing is stronger. And the parties are expert at gaming the system.
It means there is seldom a clear “line to take” on behalf of the Executive ; and little desire to expose particular stalling and blocking to media scrutiny. Apart from competitive sectarian reflexes which could even become more acute now due to increasing unionist fragmentation, silo ops leave each minister more vulnerable to lobby pressure. Still. I’m amazed that frustrated ministers don’t grass more with the details of blocking moves by others. Is this because one lot is as bad as the other?
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if they had the guts to expose genuine debate within the Executive? They don’t even keep decent records despite pressure and promises to do so. So instead of demonstrating how a rival party is preventing this good thing from happening, they’d prefer to reply in kind. So far there are few clear examples of voters punishing them for this practice.
it doesn’t have to be like that.
Perhaps unionist fragmentation and the name and shame tactics of the small SDLP opposition will make a difference. Another is to deepen the genuine cooperation between Mss O’ Neill and Little Pengelly beyond the smiles.
As for the civil service, they have a tough task of having to show loyalty to rival ministers. They lack the confidence and capacity to strike out boldly for the common good. Ironic that the woman all of Stormont turned down as head of the civil service is now organising Starmer’s roll-out of his programme for government.
Talking of a programme for government, where is Stormont’s? Not all their fault, they’re waiting for the “fiscal framework” from Westminster which they insist has to exceed the 124% of English spending under the Barnett formula. Can they conceivably agree on a modest programme of revenue raising in return ? Some time during the Parliament? No rush !
As for the big issues, Mike Nesbitt has begun our old friend yet more “consultations” on the health reforms everybody already knows are necessary. Water management is holding up housing development and prices and Lough Neagh’s blue algae is still blooming. Why don’t they from an all party Executive committee to monitor the working of the Windsor Framework? They have at least the evidence of an Assembly committee to go on and a route to the Cabinet Office dealing with improving relations with the EU.
Attention will be paid to Labour’s plan to restore legacy inquests and civil action while retaining the legacy commission as the investigative body. Easy to agree on something for which you don’t bear the ultimate responsibility.
Anyone for change? Anyone?
We cannot fail this time. Can we?
Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London
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