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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

That is what I meant when I said there might be discussions to establish how the devolution of policing would take place. But the principle is that, once all the hoops have been jumped through, the people on the ground will have control. That is what is important, and what our debate is about. It is clear from the discussions mentioned by the hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Sir Patrick Cormack) that the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee’s inquiry into organised crime has shown that any improvements in the criminal justice system should be welcomed. It is true that, as Sir Hugh Orde told us recently,"““Northern Ireland is not the ‘Wild West’””," but organised criminal activity is still far too common, and the police and other bodies involved in the fight to defeat crime must be given all possible support. There is a clear demand that the House must make unanimously. If any political party is involved in any way with criminal activity, organised, paramilitary or—that curious word—pure, it must cease immediately. If it does not do so, its members should not be recognised as democratic politicians. It is all well and good for the leaders of Sinn Fein to demand the reinstatement of the devolved Assembly, and to insist that failure to reinstate it should result in the withdrawal of Assembly Members’ salaries. That party must convince us all that the loss of its members’ salaries will not be cushioned by a backhander from the paramilitary branch of the Northern bank. We need deeds as well as words if we can ever hope to move forward. I agree with the right hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley) that it is not possible to be a terrorist and a democratic politician at the same time. You must take your pick: you are one or the other. It is right and proper for us to welcome transparent election processes that will give confidence to all involved. The old concept of ““Vote early and vote often”” will not wash in the 21st century. It is also right for us to institute legislation that allows people to vote safely, without fear of threat or reprisal. We should therefore welcome a limited use of anonymous registration for those who are genuinely in need of such protection, and we should want to reach, as quickly as possible, a stage at which such safeguards are no longer needed.Other changes to the electoral system, including the process of donations to parties, should also be welcomed. All our people, throughout the country, need to be assured that our political processes are as transparent as possible, and the Bill takes us a long way in that direction. We hope that the energy market will become more open and produce efficiencies and savings in the cost of energy to people on the ground. I would have loved to stand here and say that we have a nationalised energy market controlled by our country and our people, but sadly that is not the case. Thanks to the efforts of the Conservative party when it was in power, we have a market-based energy system under which people struggle to supply energy. I can see the potential for our lights to go out over the next few days because we have put our faith in the market. However, the market may well work in this context if it allows people throughout Ireland access to cheaper energy supplies than they have had in the past, and that must be welcome.