Christopher Stalford
South Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“In the United States of America, you have two schools of thought: the expansionists — the people who do not believe that the Founding Fathers should be taken at their word, or that the Constitution should be interpreted in the strict sense; and the originalists — those who do.”
“Let me make some progress. <BR /> <BR />The key point in the brief is the "particular circumstances" of Northern Ireland. That is, and should be, central to everything that we examine.”
“I do not think that it ever got particularly bad-tempered, so I am disappointed at the tone that was struck in the opening of the debate and in subsequent contributions, but I am not going to lie down like a dog and take it. I am not going to take the rewriting of history.”
“There is one absolute right in law, and that is the right not to be tortured. That is an absolute right that is accepted as a universal right. How many people did the fellow travellers of the party opposite deny that human right to? So I am not going to take that from any Member opposite when it comes to rights.”
“I have stated my position and made it clear that I think that we have a strong human rights framework in Northern Ireland. We have two bodies, established in law, that are dedicated to the protection of human rights and equality. We are one of the most human rights- and fairness-compliant societies in the world. It is important.”
“I appreciate the Member's giving way. She and I served together for many years on Belfast City Council, where people from different and disparate backgrounds had to work together because nobody had a majority. That was just the nature of the place. She talked about respect and disrespect.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,239 lines we hold for Christopher Stalford, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 19 of 25.
“and thank you, pantomime crowd, for that introduction. This is an extremely serious issue, the seriousness of which should not be underestimated or wished away.”
“Does the Member appreciate that there is a bit of irony in the fact that the only party now saying that they do not want an inquiry under the Inquiries Act is the party that supposedly left the Government over this issue?”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Can you confirm that the reason why the situation has developed is that a Member from Sinn Féin rose to his feet, gave a speech and then indicated at the end that he was not moving the motion and that the direction issued by the acting Chair, Lord Morrow, would have been the same regardless of who occupied the Chair?”
“This is the second example in the course of the day of the potential for devolution to be used in a positive and constructive way to aid those in most need. I welcome the fact that the Minister has brought the measures forward. I am glad to support them, and I urge all parties to do likewise. It is important, even in probably the last hour and a half of devolution, that we can use the institutions in this way. I am glad that the Minister has outlined the detail that he has to the House.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Has any indication been made to you or your office of the intention of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Health to attend Question Time to answer questions about their Departments?”
“I am grateful to the Member for giving way. He is being very generous with his time. Having been subjected to that little sermon from Mr Maskey about the mitigations that we put in, does the Member agree that it then defies belief that you would remove the one mechanism — namely the Northern Ireland Executive — whereby you were able to put in mitigations to protect people?”
“I am grateful to the Member for giving way. Whilst Mr McCann is right to say that one Assembly cannot bind another, will the Member agree with me that one Assembly most certainly cannot bind a direct rule regime presided over by a Conservative Government?”
“Those who have decided that they wish to cast devolution aside are leaving the most vulnerable in our society at the mercy of people who do not care about them.”
“I absolutely agree with that: it is essential that we build more social houses. That is why I welcome the fact that, in the draft Programme for Government, there was a commitment to build more social houses than we have ever built. Of course, we will not have a Government, so whether that target will be achieved is up in the air, and whether a direct rule regime of people from the Home Counties and the south-east of England will be prepared to see that through and delivered is up in the air. I absolutely agree with the Member about the need to build more social homes. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the fact that the Minister has brought the measures forward, and I hope that all parties will support them. It is essential that we use devolution to protect the people of Northern Ireland and the most vulnerable in our society.”
“They have made their decision, but let us not pretend that, by doing so, they are standing up for their constituents. They are leaving them at the mercy of a Tory Government.”
“It is likely that we will not have devolution. It is likely that, at least for an extended period, we are being elected to some sort of talks process. Mr Eastwood was right: that means that the people of Northern Ireland will be at the mercy of a Tory Government and their direct rule Ministers. Anyone who thinks that it will simply be a case of collapsing the institutions and then, with the flick of a switch, getting them back up again is deluding themselves. That means that measures such as this — a Northern Ireland-tailored solution to protect our constituents — will not be put in place. We will be entirely at the whim of Home Counties Tories who do not give two figs about the budgetary implications of the cuts that they want to push through. If people are happy with that, that is up to them.”
“Well, the block grant pays for the public services that are provided for the people of Northern Ireland, so there was less money to go on the essential public services that we are here to deliver. That happened because Sinn Féin, for its own reasons, decided that it would behave in the way that it did. For someone to stand up from its Benches and say that they are proud of that is remarkable. For someone representing Belfast North, one of the most deprived constituencies in Northern Ireland, to stand up and say they are proud of it simply defies belief. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the fact that the measures are being introduced, but I also want to address the point that was made by Mr Eastwood. It was an accurate point. Those of us who will be returned do not know what we will be elected to. We do not know what these elections will be.”
“Well, then, exercise them. <BR /> <BR />The fact is that they do not go to Westminster, and now they have decided that they do not want to go to the Executive in Stormont. The power to protect the most vulnerable people in Northern Ireland will be undermined by not having a functioning Government here in order to put in place measures such as the mitigations of the bedroom tax. Devolution can be used for the benefit of the people, particularly vulnerable people. It is unfortunate, therefore, that others have decided that they want to abstain from using the power available to them. That is their choice — we live in a democracy, and they are free to do so — but let us also not forget that, because of their posturing over welfare reform, £174 million in two years was lost to the people of Northern Ireland. That money could have been spent —”
“I did not do that to you. Show some manners and decorum.”
“Please do not heckle me from a sedentary position.”
“<BR /> <BR />I listened to Carál Ní Chuilín's contribution. In it, she made a defence of Sinn Féin's policy of abstentionism — abstaining from going to Westminster. We have now moved from abstaining from being in Westminster to abstaining from exercising any power or control in Northern Ireland, because —”
“No. <BR /> <BR />One of the reasons I got involved in politics is that I come from a working-class community. I was born in Annadale and reared at the bottom of the Ravenhill Road. I can see communities that are in need, and I want to make a difference to help them. It is wrong that people should be fearful for their future. It is wrong that 34,000 people in Northern Ireland should have been facing the real prospect of the implementation of this tax on them. Mitigations were first negotiated way back by Nelson McCausland, when he was at DSD. Working constructively with others, we managed to put those mitigations in place. That was the right thing to do. It was right that Northern Ireland should have a tailored solution that protected vulnerable people from the introduction of the bedroom tax.”
“I support the regulations, obviously. One of the reasons I got involved in politics is —”
“I am grateful to the Member for giving way. The Member is absolutely right that, at the core of this issue, are 34,000 people who potentially face having the bedroom tax imposed upon them. Would she agree that, in that context, it was right that the Minister sought advice from the Attorney General, whilst the Sinn Féin Minister at the heart of this issue simply published a note that he received from his permanent secretary? In fact, it was the Minister for Communities who sought the definitive legal position before making it public.”
“Some people are not interested in facts; they have made their mind up. Mr Poots was right: this is a lynch mob.”
“It is clear to me, from a number of contributions in the House, not least by the Member for North Antrim, for whom, quite frankly, Arlene Foster could make every day 12 July and you still would not be happy with her.”
“It is about trying to topple the First Minister and bring down the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. I listened to Mrs Long's contribution, and she was perfectly reasonable in what she said, but other Members' contributions were truthfully, if we are being honest about it, malice dressed up as fairness. They are not really interested in the answers. What people want is a scalp. They want to bring down the First Minister as a scalp, as a political notch — and that is not going to happen. <BR /> <BR />I welcome that she said there would be an independent inquiry into all of these matters and I hope it gets to the bottom of all of them, and that all of the paperwork and the email trails and what have you are put out there for people to see, so that they can make their own mind up.”
“I listened to the First Minister give an account of herself, and Members had the opportunity this morning. She made herself open and available for any questions, and they chose; they chose not to take the opportunity. Now, I understand; I have been in politics for a very long time and I understand that it would be easier and more convenient, perhaps, to go on the airwaves and make allegations, but if you wanted questions answered, you should have availed of the opportunity that the First Minister gave for you to ask them. <BR /> <BR />During the course of the debate, I heard several contributions that indicate to me that the people who are talking about accountability and questions that need answering are not really interested in the answers. They do not really care about the answers. For some people, this is about base politics.”
“Well, oddly enough, Mr Allister, the First Minister has a country to run. She is not heckling from the sidelines.”
“Bad luck, Stephen. <BR /> <BR />This is the forum, and people had the opportunity this morning. After ten days of accusing the First Minister of all sorts, of accusing her of going to ground and hiding, and all of that sort of language that was being used, she came here and made herself amenable to all of the people who have made those claims about her. She sat there, she gave an account of herself and she offered all of you the opportunity to ask her questions. The response?”
“Just one second, I want to make my point.”
“If there is a proper forum for holding Ministers to account, it is here. People —”
“We are sent here to govern for the people of this country.”
“This is an extremely serious turn of events for the Northern Ireland Assembly and the political institutions. It is right that Ministers should be held accountable for their actions in and out of office. It is right that public scrutiny should occur. It is right that people should ask questions where they see issues and where they think that things have gone awry. That is healthy in a democracy. That is how a democracy should function. It is regrettable, therefore, after more than a week of people taking to the air waves, casting aspersions and demanding answers from the First Minister and that she bring herself here to make herself accountable, that Mr Farry, in his contribution, said that he would look for a proper forum for accountability: this is the proper forum. This is the Northern Ireland Assembly.”
“The Member, his colleagues and others in the House have had the best part of a week to throw questions and accusations at the First Minister in the press. The First Minister made herself available for questioning and scrutiny. Do you think that the public really care about this joint-nature defence that you have put up for not being here to ask questions? No, they do not.”
“I am grateful to the Member for giving way. Figures have been bandied around in the media. Does the Member agree that it is a bit rich for a party that spent £40 million on a road that was never built to lecture anybody on how to run a Department?”
“I thank the First Minister for the statement that she made. In the precursor to it, several Members raised points of order and the issue of undermining the credibility of the House. Does the First Minister agree with me that what undermines the credibility of the House is when its elected Members run away from fulfilling their function of answering questions in this place and instead choosing to do so in TV studios?”
“The Minister mentioned the Investing in the Teaching Workforce scheme: can he detail for the House the range of impacts he expects the scheme to have and the targets that have been set to increase opportunities in the profession?”
“When the Member talks about the right organisations getting money, I presume he includes the Greater Village Regeneration Trust (GVRT). Perhaps he would like to speak to his colleague in front of him about its capacity to deliver successful projects.”
“I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. I will be brief. He will be aware that Charter NI's website lists its funding organisations, which include not only the Government but Belfast City Council, the Housing Executive and a Department that, up until six months ago, was under the control of the Alliance Party. Does he agree that, if there was some vast conspiracy involving a slush fund, the Alliance Party was obviously part of it?”
“People will see this for what it is, which is nothing more than rank, political opportunism.”
“The same people, of course, who criticised the scrutiny of this process had a direct hand in it. Therefore, when they come now feigning concern, they had years to do this.”
“In the northern area, the Chief Whip Robin Swann MLA, sat on that area working group. Councillor Derek Hussey sat on the western area working group. Of course, the same people —”
“In the south-eastern area, Councillor Philip Sif — sorry, Philip Smith — sat on the area working group.”
“Keep watching, you might learn something. In the —”
“Councillor Thomas O'Hanlon of the SDLP sat on that area working group. In the south-eastern —”
“The funding that you are talking about and the project that I was talking about are for the provision of a training and employment centre. It will not give a glimmer of hope; it will be a lifeline for many people from the community that I have referenced. <BR /> <BR />It is important, when people criticise the processes, to note that in the south Belfast area, Jeffrey Dudgeon replaced Bob Stoker, who in turn replaced Michael McGimpsey, on that steering group, so most of the Ulster Unionists in south Belfast went through it. Paula Bradshaw sat on that working group. In east Belfast, Chris Lyttle MLA sat on that SIF working group. Councillors Anne Donnelly and Marion Quinn of the SDLP sat on the Londonderry one. In the southern area, the general secretary of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr Colin McCusker, sat on that area working group.”
“The reason why it took so long to get the office open is because the finance office would not allow me to pay rent to an Ulster Unionist councillor who was the previous person to own the building, rather than a community group. <BR /> <BR />I am proud of community groups such as Belfast South Community Resources, which are committed to peaceful, democratic means and which are determined to drive positive change —”
“He and I disagreed on many things, although I probably agreed with him more than any other member of the Alliance Party I have ever met. We agreed on a lot of things because we could see that it was not right that communities such as that should be held back and their development retarded. <BR /> <BR />The social investment fund was born out of a desire to reflect the fact that local people and local communities know best what suits their needs, what their problems and challenges are, and that they should have a direct and meaningful way of tackling those problems. I am proud that I recently opened my constituency office in Sandy Row; it is situated in a building that is part of a social investment fund project. I revealed that in the Executive Office Committee not so long ago, and it is not a mystery to anyone.”
“It is my responsibility, as someone who was born in Annadale and who comes from a working-class Protestant background, to ensure that aspiration is promoted, that education is developed, and that opportunities are opened up that otherwise would not have been there. <BR /> <BR />I mentioned south Belfast. In reference to the party that tabled the motion, I served on Belfast City Council for 11 years alongside Alderman Tom Ekin of the Alliance Party. Tom not only played a role in the development of Weaver's Court and in the creation of jobs for local people, but he was prepared to put his money where his mouth is to encourage people down a better path and to promote a better path with a higher level of understanding, education and aspiration for the young people in those areas.”
“Any dispassionate or reasonable observer looking at communities such as that would come to the conclusion that, for too long, they were sidelined, ignored and left behind. I accept that some of the responsibility for that falls on the shoulders of unionism and on government in general. The fact is that we are talking about communities where the development of capacity and community infrastructure was held back for many years because of the perverse circumstances of life in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I was sent here to represent those people, and I am firmly of the view that, for too long, they have been left behind.”
“I was sent here to represent all the people of South Belfast but I draw a particular level of support from the type of community that Mr Dickson talked about in his contribution. I think of communities like Sandy Row, Taughmonagh and the Village, where his colleague Ms Bradshaw worked for many years in the community and voluntary sector.”
“Who did the Minister consult during the development of the social strategy?”
“I am grateful to the Minister for that very full answer. Does she agree with me that, in tackling congestion, any air quality strategy must have significant investment in infrastructure, including the York Street interchange?”
“I am grateful to the Member for giving way. Does she agree that, if the issue were being taken so seriously, the leader of her party would be here instead of posing for a photo opportunity in London? Yes, I know that you were going to tell me where he is instead of posing for a photo opportunity in London.”