TUV Leader Looks Back on Assembly Term
09 July 2012
Reflecting on the end of the Assembly term TUV leader Jim Allister said:
“During the first term of this Assembly we have seen the continued appeasement of Republicans. The tone was set when one of its first actions was to elevate Francie Molloy, a man linked to the murder of an RUC reservist by a DUP MP, to the newly created position of Principal Deputy Speaker courtesy of DUP MLAs. It came to a close on a similar note with the first meeting of the North – South Parliamentary Forum, something for which the DUP’s Peter Weir claimed there was “no justification” just a short time ago.
“However, I hope that the DUP/Sinn Fein cabal found this Assembly term a little less comfortable than the last now that there is a Traditional Unionist Voice in the chamber.
“Since coming to Stormont I have tabled over a thousand written questions. Sadly I have been unable to obtain anything like one thousand answers but the public have, nonetheless, been provided with some facts and figures which the Executive would doubtless rather kept under wraps including their £5 million on spin doctors, £4.5 million on hospitality and the £30 million spent on consultants for the A5.
“Added to that, by exposing David Ford’s plan to remove the Crown from the symbol of the Prison Service and put an end to prisons being called “Her Majesty’s Prisons” I was able to put a stop to what would have been an monstrous insult to those Prison Officers who were murdered by terrorists.
“It was also gratifying to be able to introduce my Private Member’s Bill (the first of this Assembly) which will ban anyone who has a serious criminal conviction from holding the position of Special Adviser. I look forward to the Bill receiving the support of all democrats when the Assembly returns.”
