Local Conservatives have praised the Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, for “spelling out some home truths to the malfunctioning Northern Ireland Executive, on welfare”. NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Mark Brotherston, said “Theresa is insisting, quite rightly, that Stormont ministers can’t shirk the most basic responsibilities of government”.
“It’s absolutely clear that the Executive has the right to maintain a different welfare system to the rest of the UK, in Northern Ireland”, Mark continued. “That’s part of having a devolved administration. However, as a ten year old would understand, having a separate system will cost money, which must be found from elsewhere in the Stormont budget. These kind of decisions are the most fundamental aspects of government and the Executive simply cannot shirk them or try to shift the blame elsewhere.”
“The Conservative Party, locally and nationally, believes that our welfare system should be reformed, because it is right to make work pay and help people off benefits and into employment. If the parties at Stormont take a different view, they should spell out the sort of system they want and be clear about how they plan to fund it. The Secretary of State has done her very best to treat the malfunctioning Northern Ireland Executive like responsible adults. They should now start behaving like grown-up politicians rather than spoilt, petulant children.”