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Northern Ireland election

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No Assembly Group on Women

  • Mark Devenport
  • 14 May 07, 02:44 PM

The Ulster Unionists' call for the Assembly to rejoin the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association may have got through "on the nod", but Sinn Fein's attempt to create an all party working group on women hit the buffers today when the Assembly voted 44 to 43 in favour of a DUP amendment. The DUP's Michelle McIlveen argued that such a group would duplicate the work of the Office of First and Deputy First Minister. The Strangford MLA also wanted to be recognised as a politician who had got to Stormont on merit, not as a result of a quota system. Earlier Sinn Fein's Jennifer McCann described the current number of women MLAs (18 out of 108) as a disgrace.

The best moments in the debate featured the Ulster Unionists explaining their 100% male assembly team. Basil McCrea's maiden speech should have been heard without interruption but there were some raucous noises off when he accused the DUP and Sinn Fein of deselecting women candidates in the March elections. Roy Beggs explained that the UUP's woman MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon, hadn't been able to stand. The Alliance's Naomi Long got the biggest laugh when she quipped that the only maidens on the Ulster Unionist benches were men making their maiden speeches.

The UUP defector Arlene Foster acknowledged sarcastically that whilst the UUP's Assembly team was 100% male, its Commons team, now down to just one MP, was 100% female.


Comments   Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 04:42 PM on 14 May 2007,
  • Glenn wrote:

The crisis within the UUP seems to go on and on. They seem to be the least-respected party in the chamber, with severe sledging coming from all quarters. There really should be a better response by the UUP members to some of the witty remarks made about them by other members and parties, but so far there has been nothing at all! Their demise will continue unless this situation is rectified - the party and its members are being made to look like fools.

Contrary to what Michelle McIlveen's amendment states, the Working Group would have ensured that OFMDFM is serious about implementing the Gender Equality Strategy. The Gender Equality Unit at OFMDFM is inadequately staffed and resourced. It is only responsible for ensuring that departments and not Political parties implement the strategy! The Merit principle is flawed - someone's merit could be seen as someone else's barrier.

  • 3.
  • At 05:08 PM on 16 May 2007,
  • Susie Flood wrote:

Mark

The MLAs are being unimaginative in their approach to encouraging more women into politics. They should instigate the formation of a women鈥檚-only party. First they should seek out a couple of strident, publicity-seeking females with time on their hands (not burdened by child-rearing responsibilities); individuals who are not only comfortable with but actually salivate when confronted with microphones and TV cameras, prepared at all times to give their expert view on any subject whatsoever. Their policies don鈥檛 have to be terribly well formulated, indeed they should be flexible enough to allow them to change allegiances as the need arises; principled positions should always be relinquished if unethical compromise is more in keeping with the current zeitgeist. I forsee great things for the new Party as it will attract a particular type of female voter and garner support from males who are proud to adopt the metrosexual label (think of certain television presenters as exemplars). What to call the new Party? What about a working title of Women鈥檚 Complaints Party (WCs)? A perfect vehicle for women to flex their political tongues and sod the merit principle!

Susie
Carryduff

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