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Progressive Politics NI

Omagh - Fixing Our Politics

The terms of the Good Friday Agreement should be reassessed
Part of changing the Good Friday Agreement should include moving away from mandatory coalition
Part of changing the Good Friday Agreement should include abolishing or reforming the Petition of Concern
Part of changing the Good Friday Agreement should include ridding the Assembly of Unionist/Nationalist designations
We should end the secrecy of historical party donations
The right to vote should be extended to the age of 16
The House of Lords should be replaced with an elected Senate
Special advisors in Stormont should be selected entirely via employment trawl rather than chosen by Ministers
People should be automatically registered to vote
There should be easier access to mail in voting
There should be investigations into the incorporation of electronic voting into our current system
Polling Day should be on public/bank holidays and/or be over a period of 2 days to encourage greater public participation
The libel law in Northern Ireland should be reformed
There should be a ban on MLAs employing family as staff
The NI Assembly terms should be reduced from 5 years to 4 years to strengthen accountability and give the public a say in direct democracy more often
The NI Executive should provide clarity on the processes of the Executive in their decision making
The NI Executive should publish minutes of Executive meetings within an appropriate time period after meetings
Legislate for a binding Citizens Assembly mechanism for regional and local policymaking
Comments
  • The Socialist Party believes the Good Friday Agreement represents an agreement to disagree between the sectarian blocs and does not represent a lasting solution to division and conflict here. We do not believe sectarianism can be overcome by forces which have a vested interest in maintaining it. We urgently need to build an anti-sectarian voice for the working class and a movement for socialist change. The Socialist Party favours the abolition of the House of Lords without any replacement. The Socialist Party believes that the position of special advisor should either be political or statutory but not both. The Socialist Party believes that political parties have the right to staff political positions as they see fit, as these by their nature require political agreement with a party's policies and outlook.