NI Conservatives’ spokeswoman, Lesley Macaulay, has welcomed the announcement of some cross community initiatives by the first and deputy first ministers at Stormont, after Theresa Villiers and David Cameron intervened, but she acknowledged that a “genuinely shared future still seems far away, under this leadership”.
“It has taken the personal intervention of the secretary of state and the prime minister to prompt some useful proposals around sharing and integration”, Lesley said. “We’ll be taking some time to look at the new document, when it is finally published. However some of the suggestions, such as cross-community summer schools, a time-table for taking down peace-walls and some shared campuses and community schemes certainly have merit, if they are implemented properly. An emphasis on bringing together young people is particularly important.”
“Theresa Villiers and David Cameron should be congratulated for linking the government’s economic programmes to a shared future and cajoling the two first ministers into some action. Unfortunately the announcement also highlights just how little the executive has achieved to date on the most difficult issues. There is no progress yet on critical matters like flags, parades or the past and no meaningful start on educating our children together or integrating social housing.”
“The executive parties were supposed to start tackling these issues many years ago. Let’s hope that this time they can make some progress, show a real commitment to a shared future and that today’s announcements are not just isolated initiatives.”