‘IGNORANT’ BRADLEY BLOCKS COURT-ORDERED ELECTION

Posted by Jim on September 8, 2018

After admitting to a parliamentary magazine that she hadn’t understood
how the North of Ireland is divided politically, British Direct Ruler
Karen Bradley has introduced legislation at Westminster to halt Six
County Assembly elections until 2019.

A judicial review before the High Court in Belfast this week could have
ordered Bradley to hold an Assembly election, which has been due since
April 2017. The new law legislation will now mean there is no
requirement for a Stormont vote until at least April 2019.

Her announcement on Thursday also brought the Six Counties a step
further towards full Direct Rule from London, with civil servants given
greater powers to make decisions. She also suggested the possibility of
an “external facilitation” for talks — an independent chair — and
introduced a measure which threatens to cut the salaries of Assembly
members from November.

The Stormont assembly has not sat since January 2017 when it collapsed
over allegations of corruption. However, assembly members have continued
to receive their annual salary of #49,500. The political deadlock has
left the Six Counties entirely in the hands of civil servants.

Introducing the new legislation, Bradley avoided declaring a return to
full Direct Rule or the abandonment of the democratic process at
Stormont.

“This will provide a further opportunity to re-establish political
dialogue with the aim of restoring the executive as soon as possible,”
she said.

Tony Lloyd, Labour’s spokesman on the north of Ireland, condemned what
he said was “governance by judicial review”, referring to the legal
dilemma which is understood to have provoked Bradley’s action. A judicial
review is currently before the courts on behalf of victims of historical
institutional abuse who had been promised financial compensation. One
argument the victims’ lawyers are using is that the British government’s
refusal to call a fresh assembly election is unreasonable.

Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Michelle O’Neill said Bradley had only acted
because of the imminent prospect of the courts ordering her to do so.
She said it was a “retrograde step”.

“Any attempt to move away from the Good Friday Agreement or towards
Direct Rule will fail,” she said.

“Clearly, the British government’s reliance on the DUP remains a central
problem and if any process around restoring the institutions is to be
credible, Karen Bradley must begin prioritising the rights of citizens
over Tory Party self-interest.”

She said that in the absence of rights-based institutions, the British
Irish Intergovernmental Conference is “the proper forum to ensure the
full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, to resolve the issue
of rights and to address the oversight of the political process.”

‘NO UNDERSTANDING’

Separately Ms Bradley, from Staffordshire in northwest England, revealed
that she had no understanding of the North of Ireland when she was
appointed to her role in January.

“I freely admit that when I started this job, I didn’t understand some
of the deep-seated and deep-rooted issues that there are in Northern
Ireland,” she told the Westminster parliament’s ‘House’ magazine.

Mrs Bradley, who ironically has the sole power to call a border poll on
Irish reunification under legislation dating from the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement, said: “I didn’t understand things like when elections are
fought for example in Northern Ireland — people who are nationalists
don’t vote for unionist parties and vice-versa. So, the parties fight
for the election within their own community… That’s a very different
world from the world I came from.”

She added: “That is so incredibly different and it’s when you realise
that, and you see that, that you can then start to understand some of
the things that the politicians say and some of the rhetoric.”

The comments have drawn cynicism and derision. Sinn Fein said they were
a reminder of where the North comes in the British government’s
priorities, but Downing Street insisted that the prime minister, Theresa
May, retains confidence in Ms Bradley.

Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said Ms Bradley
had “really made an effort to understand Northern Ireland” since taking
the role.

“She didn’t have a lot of experience of Northern Ireland before being
appointed there, but she’s an experienced, very smart politician,” he
said.

Sinn Fein’s former Stormont finance minister Mairtin O Muilleoir said he
had gone “beyond being shocked by the British government’s ignorance of
affairs” in the North. “When it comes to appointing their representative
in Belfast, the only requirement was that that person would take the
orders of Theresa May, who of course is taking her orders from the DUP.”