Irish News Editorial Backs Allister
28 September 2011
Taken from this morning’s Irish News editorial:Assembly ban is wrong message
Although there can often be a fine line between asking awkward questions and breaching protocols, the ban that was effectively imposed on the Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister yesterday does not help the credibility of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
With five parties involved in what increasingly resembles a permanent coalition at Stormont, it is essential that dissenting voices be given a fair opportunity to have their say in the chamber.
After making an irreverent but hardly offensive remark about Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, Mr Allister was immediately told by Speaker Will Hay, a DUP member, that he would not be permitted to contribute “in this house for some time for any debate”.
Mr Allister was wrong to say to Mr Hay that his “peerage is safe” but it was equally wrong to send out a message that experienced ministers are incapable of taking robust exchanges in their stride.
Note: Time will prove if Jim was right in what he said about a peerage!
