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Northern Ireland Bill (Allocation of Time)

As I said on Second Reading, and as Members will know very well, the SDLP does not have much of an appetite for clause 1. Indeed, we might have something of an allergy to it. However, as golfers apparently say, we must play the ball where it lies. We know what has been happening, and we know what will be happening. Despite our misgivings about the changes involving the appointment of Ministers and the damage that that will do to the agreement, we have tabled a number of amendments that we believe would make good some of the damage, and also provide for a more definite fall-back than is provided for in the Bill. Indeed, we have been told that the Bill contains no fall-back. Amendments 22 and 23 and new clause 1 are intended to deal with what will happen in 2011, and the possibility of an indefinite period with no Minister, following an Assembly election. Amendment 22 proposes that, rather than there being an election after seven days, the d’Hondt system would be reverted to: the fall-back would be as per the agreement. We believe that that would help to concentrate minds, because if parties wanted to avoid the d’Hondt option they would ensure that there was agreement on the election of a Minister, so the issue would not arise. The amendment would, we hope, help to avoid the difficulty that I described earlier. Amendment 23 and new clause 1 deal with the 2012 problem: dissolution. The Minister said that the House was leaving all this to devolution, after which it would be a matter for the parties. However, the Bill does not only devolve; on 1 May it will dissolve as well, and we consider that wrong, rash and dangerous. We do not assume that there will be "sweetness and light" agreements before that date, and that people will not play all sorts of games of political brinkmanship on the way. We want a fall-back position guaranteeing that a Department will continue so that people can be assured of stability.