I have been an elected councilor for 11 years. I am tired of politics based on the colour of your rosette or your election literature. I’m fed up with dividing everything up on a “one for me, one for you basis”. I want to see proper politics in Northern Ireland – ordinary, decent politics based on social and economic policies. As far as I am concerned, NI’s constitutional position is settled in the short-term. Voting for Sinn Fein will not bring about a united Ireland and voting for the DUP will not protect the union. Allowing the constitutional question to dominate our politics leads to people being elected on whether they are orange or green and once in office produces policy paralysis. We have huge problems in Northern Ireland – in health, education, our over dependence on the public sector, our infrastructure and we have to address those issues.
Belonging to a national party – the party presently governing the UK and having an input to their policies gives NI residents the opportunity to participate in real politics. It is an opportunity to stop blaming everyone else for our problems and, whether we regard ourselves as Ulster, Irish or British, to work together for the good of all the people of NI.
Hundreds of thousands of voters have switched off and have effectively voted for “none of the above” at recent elections. I believe the NI Conservatives offer an alternative, a party that is open to all who agree with our policies, whatever your religion or ethnicity. A party that will advocate the ending of the ridiculous duplication of services in housing and education that costs us millions each year. A party that will seek to have a health service that is not only caring and accessible but is efficient, giving value for money.
We want to be involved in local politics – at Council level as well as the NI Assembly. We want to see Conservative policies presented to the voters of Northern Ireland but we also want to be part of the UK political system, not semi-detached.
This is an exciting opportunity for Northern Ireland to move on politically. The Belfast agreement has done its job. It is time to move on to politics based on policies with an opposition party keeping the Executive on their toes. We want to see Conservative policies with a NI accent and we will present those at forthcoming elections.